


Our Chosen Family

by elensari



Series: Song of the Spheres [3]
Category: Doctor Who, Doctor Who & Related Fandoms, Doctor Who (2005)
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-04-14
Updated: 2014-04-29
Packaged: 2018-01-19 10:31:55
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 16
Words: 65,892
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1466140
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/elensari/pseuds/elensari
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>When you have lost your family, or you just can't reach them; sometimes it is the family of our heart, our chosen family that mean the most to us. -Rose and the Doctor continue finding their way through the stars, luckily with help from friends new and old. 3rd in my Songs of the Spheres verse. Rated M for language and innuendo.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Robbie Burns' Day

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A busy day of fun ends well until someone is found waiting for them at the TARDIS.

**Robbie Burns Day**

Donna barely has her things stuffed into her room before she is raring to go for an adventure. Rose suggests they could experience Robbie Burns Day in Canada since the Doctor had mentioned it previously. Jack hasn't ever heard of Robert Burns, so while still in the Vortex, they all troop to the Library for an impromptu reading and appreciation of Burns' poems over oatcakes and scotch, of course.

Donna isn't too interested in poems she considers to be nearly incomprehensible, but things get much more entertaining once the Doctor and Rose decide to share the performance—the Doctor reading the original text with pitch perfect matching Scots accent, and Rose translating into London-ese, complete with all the dropped consonants, and wide vowels of her previous life. The facial expressions and periodic pantomime undertaken by the narrators has the entire group in stitches, and hardly able to complete a couple of the readings. The bees humming and the capons craws are particular favourites.

The Doctor finishes the evening with a hearts felt recitation of  _A Red, Red Rose_  that has tears in the eyes of everyone. When a flushed Rose stands to translate, Donna stops her with raised hand that clutches a tissue from the box she's been sharing with Jack.

"Don't. I want to remember it jus' that way. I understood it fine." She takes a moment to blow her nose with a goose honk that brings a smile to all involved. "That's beautiful, and perfect for you two. I think I'm ready for bed though, after all this excitement today. I'll jus' go find my room again. G'night."

With a final sniff and a wave, she heads out of the Library and wanders off down the hall. Standing, Jack raises his glass to Rose and the Doctor, and takes his last swallow.

"Sounds like a plan. Thanks for tonight. I just wanted…," he's cut off by a scream from Donna that has everyone scrambling out of the Library and sprinting down the hall.

Reaching Donna's doorway, they find her pressed against the door, arms splayed and a look of surprised confusion on her face.

"What's happening?" she yells at all of them as they come skidding to an abrupt stop.

"Well, what do you think's happening, Donna?" the Doctor asks with a squint, already familiar with being yelled at by this fiery red-head.

"How the hell should I know? I walked into my room, and it's not my room; it's different, all my stuff is…. ** _arranged….and …decorated_** ," she yells, emphasising 'arranged and decorated' slowly.

"Donna, the TARDIS made a room especially for you. Remember when I explained about Her translating for you? It's like that. She knows what you like and she enjoys making our rooms just the way we would enjoy them most," Rose explains.

"Wha?! So the spaceship is in my head and knows what all my favourite colours and stuff are? I have an alien in my head… _all the time_?" she asks with even more agitation.

"You could always come sleep in my room if you don't like yours," Jack says with a wink. "There's plenty of space."

"Oi! Now you listen here, you knob. I…., What was that?!" Donna asks, looking around at the winking lights of the TARDIS.

"Did you like it?" Rose asks, crossing her arms and smiling at Donna.

"Wha?" Donna questions, losing her train of thought

"Did you like the room? Is it your favourite colour? Can I see it? She really does enjoy making them for us and the lights means She's apologising to you," Rose tries to mollify Donna.

"She's alive, Donna," the Doctor explains. "Weeellll, not alive like we're alive; more so really. An eleventh dimensional being is alive in ways that we can't be, and She can know things about us that we may not even know yet. She wants you to feel welcome. I think She likes you, actually." Rubbing the back of his neck to hide the grin that's trying to break free, he teases Donna, "Don't know why really, with all the yelling you do. I don't think there's been so much yelling in the TARDIS since Teagan. I just couldn't seem to get her anywhere near Heathrow," he finishes with a shrug, the grin breaking through.

Looking a bit sheepish now at the thought of the TARDIS making her a room because She likes her, Donna turns and opens the door again. Stepping in, they follow her into her new room. The TARDIS brings up the lights a bit, and with a gasp, Donna walks to a table near a window in the wall of her bedroom. There on the table, is a low vase filled with water that has several gardenias floating in it. The window looks out over a long windswept beach at sunset.

Donna stands staring out the window at the beach and the waves breaking for a moment before she turns with her eyes shining but calmer, to look back the group standing in her room staring at her with concern. With a wave over her shoulder and a slight laugh, she explains the view and the flowers.

"My Da. These were his favourite flowers, and that's the beach in Scotland where we went for a holiday before I started University; just the two of us." Smiling a little and wiping away a tear, she looks up at the ceiling and yells at the TARDIS, "THANK YOU. I'M SORRY I WAS BEIN' STUPID."

Laughing, Rose walks to Donna, and hugs her. "You don't have to yell. Just touch the wall and think how you feel; it's more direct. She understands our emotions best and the longer you're here, the more likely it is that She might send you images or feelings of Her own."

"Well, isn't that just wizard?" Donna scoffs, but she's definitely calmer, and looking around her room has to admit—it's pretty spectacular.

Seeing she's no longer set to burst, Rose and company look around at what the TARDIS designed for Donna.

"Oh Donna, it's gorgeous," Rose breathes, releasing her friend to admire the room. They follow Donna around as they tour her new suite...except for the Doctor who leans relaxed against the doorframe watching, a small smile on his face.

Donna's room is broken up into multiple spaces—her bedroom, a sitting room with reading nook, and a dressing room instead of a wardrobe that leads to her en suite. The colours vary between spaces, but are all based around grey. Her bedroom is shades of grey trimmed in burgundy—very modern, with furniture in a brushed steel and a bed canopied in sheer pearl. The sitting room is a warm sunny space with another window looking out onto rolling heather covered hillsides in bloom. This room has grey walls, but everything else is shades of purple—plum velvet chairs and the curtains are a lighter shade with dark wood bookshelves that look like they await mementos more than books. Her en suite is very blue with a peacock and ocean wave theme. Donna actually squees when she sees it, rhapsodising over the size of the claw foot tub. The central common area is done in charcoal gold and silver. The centrepiece being a magnificent chandelier that's made of stacked and cascading rings of silver with lighted globes of gold silk in various sizes.

"Well, she certainly has gone to great lengths for you, Donna," the Doctor tells her, poking a lit sphere when they've seen everything.

"Yeah. I think I might love it," she says with a smile. Walking over to an open wall, she places her hands against it and squishes her face up as if she's thinking hard. The TARDIS flashes Her lights at her in amusement.

 ** _~The Fiery One even yells in her thoughts~_**  She sends amusedly to both the Doctor and Rose in explanation.

"Well, Donna, enjoy your new room; come by for a tour of mine anytime. I'm off to bed, as well. Goodnight," Jack states with a wave to Rose and the Doctor and a surreptitious flirty little wink to Donna before he heads to his own room. All assembled can hear his yawn as he wanders down the hall.

Looking around again, awed as well as pleased by the special attention she's been paid, Donna focuses back on Rose and the Doctor. They are standing with his arm around her back and smiling at Donna, pleased that she's happy.

With another flippant little wave of her hand that still manages to encompass the space, Donna tries to express how she feels. "I'm sorry for freakin' out. I was just startled. She didn't have to go all out for me. The little room would have been fine; it doesn't have to be so grand. I'm in outer-space after all, going for adventures—I don't mean for Her to go to such a fuss. I don't want to be trouble," she says with a self-deprecating shake of her head and rueful expression.

"Technically, Donna, we're not in space, but in the Time Vortex which is this intricate wormhole composed of…," the Doctor starts.

"Listen Spaceman, I'm not goin' t' get whatever it is you're blathering on about!" she interrupts him "I just…I just wanted to say, thank you. I wasn't sure you'd come back for me after I was so much trouble at Christmas. I'm not an important person or nothin'. I'm sure you could find someone better to take along, someone more fitting, but I'm still glad you came for me anyway," Donna finishes quietly.

"Donna Noble, we came for you because we  _wanted_  to. Remember,  _we_  asked you," Rose tells her gently.

"Rose is right, Donna. We only take the best," the Doctor states in a tone of finality. Taking Rose's hand, he steers them toward the door.

Just before they leave, Rose wishes Donna a final goodnight as both she and the Doctor smile at her and she closes Donna's door softly behind them.

Walking through to her bedroom, Donna finds a matching burgundy nightdress all laid out for her on the bed. Shaking her head in wonder, she dons it and goes about her nighttime preparations. When finished, she slides beneath the covers to find the bed is utterly perfect. Petting the wall once in thanks, Donna curls up on her side and finds that she's crying—tears of happiness mixed with an overwhelming sense of peace. She's never felt like she belonged anywhere before; she could get used to this. Smiling, but doing nothing to stop the tears, Donna cries herself softly to sleep.

* * *

Hand in hand, the Doctor and Rose head to their favourite room—the Library. The Doctor walks to the loveseat, picking up the book they'd been reading, expecting to continue it out loud to Rose. He likes that she enjoys his voice, he's pretty fond of it, too. Following him, she sits down and turns so she can lay back with her head in his lap.

"Doctor, who was Teagan? I mean, I gather that she was a past companion, but would you tell me about her?" she asks, looking up at him with a smile.

"Of course I can, Rose, but you have all my memories; you can know her just as well as I do," he says, looking down at her quizzically, peering over the top of his glasses.

"I know I do, but it's not like I go traipsing through them whenever I please," Rose says rolling her eyes as if this would be obvious.

Blinking at her, the Doctor removes his glasses and frowns, "Why not? Right. I guess I should be grateful…sort of, but why? They're yours now, warts and all. I guess I can preemptively apologise for some of it, in that case. In my more than 900 years, I can't say I'm proud of all my actions in retrospect. Regenerations are a potluck, never know what exactly you'll get."

Rose gazes at him a long moment while she ponders his questions and his statement. The Doctor is starting to get uncomfortable under her stare when she finally speaks, having reached a conclusion, "Doctor, are you implying that you  _have_  been through all my memories?"

Knowing the beginnings of 'the look,' the Doctor is confused as to how to answer. "That's a trick question Rose." She narrows her eyes at him. "No, no, I mean…yeeees? Well, I mean I…umm, yes. I glanced through your memories that night after you hocus-pocused my brain and went to bed. Should I not have? Are you upset? Why would you be upset? Oh, and if I ever meet Jimmy Stone, he will  **not**  enjoy the experience," he says eyes glinting.

"No…well, maybe a little." Getting up and turning around so they are facing each other on the loveseat, she continues, "I just guess, well, I never really thought about it. I would have guessed you'd ask. Now that I say that though, I shouldn't have assumed you would. Not really your strong suit—asking."

"Oi, Rose Tyler, I'm offended," he scoffs in mock indignation. Taking her hands, he tells her in earnest, "You are my wife, my Bondmate, not just my friend. We are  _Bound_ —what is mine is yours…literally—mind, body, and soul. And I feel you in my mind as a constant presence filling part of that long vacant hole. It was just understood amongst my people that in this sort of Bonding, you would learn…know, everything…it was expected. No secrets, remember."

"Oh! I didn't think of it like that, and it wasn't mentioned in any of the books. Being telepathic, I guess it didn't occur to anyone to write it down. I felt like I was guarding them. I guess I thought it'd be rude to just waltz around learning things about you without your knowing," she explains with a sheepish smile. Rose isn't sure she's proud of all her memories either, but it made her feel all warm inside when he got possessive of her. Being his wife only intensified it, now that the accompanying feelings could wash over her at the same time.

"I knew, Rose," he says softly, rubbing her chin lightly with his fingertips. "I knew when I accepted your proposal. It's all part of the package. Seeing myself through your memories, I feel I owe you several apologies…several lifetime's worth, really. I'm sorry I didn't warn you about the regeneration, never occurred to me that my time would be so short, and then being so ill afterwards, there just wasn't time. And then Cassandra, Reinette, Krop Tor; I really had no intention, ever, I just….I let you down—several times… and I'm sorry," he ends with an apologetic smile.

Rose, on the other hand, is in open mouthed disbelief. "Did you just apologise to me…all on your own?

"Oi! Rose Tyler, I apologise, weeeelllll I mean to apologise…when I think it's appropriate. That might not always be when I should, buuuttt…." Crossing his arms and looking to the side a little huffily, he looks like a chastened child, "Oh hell, Rose  _you_  make me better. You make me  _want_  to  **be**  better. It's a little daunting, I must tell you. I even feel like I should apologise to Mickey the Idiot if ever the chance presented itself."

Laughing at him now, she scoots forward and folds herself into his lap. "I don't even know where to start. Nine hundred years is a bit daunting, too," she shares.

Cuddling her close, he whispers into her ear, "Well, how about the beginning, that's usually a good place to start," he teases her, grinning at her eye-roll.

"Thank you for that," Rose says, sticking her tongue out at him, which earns her a thorough snogging.

Coming up for air, she leans back against his shoulder and suggests they continue with their reading. Retrieving the copy of The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde, he launches into… ' _Her guests this evening were rather tedious. The fact was, as she explained to Dorian, behind a very shabby fan, one of her married daughters had come up quite suddenly to stay with her, and, to make matters worse, had actually brought her husband with her. "I think it is most unkind of her, my dear," she whispered. "Of course I go and stay with them every summer after I come from Homburg, but then an old woman like me must have fresh air sometimes, and besides, I really wake them up. You don't know what an existence they lead down there. It is pure unadulterated country life. They get up early, because they have so much to do, and go to bed early, because they have so little to think about. There has not been a scandal in the neighbourhood since the time of Queen Elizabeth, and consequently they all fall asleep after dinner. You shan't sit next either of them. You shall sit by me and amuse me." '_

* * *

The two humans on board are awoken at an unfortunate hour by two excited and energised Time Lords ready for adventure. The Doctor is singing at the top of his lungs while cooking an enormous breakfast of banana pancakes. Rose is giggling and coming in on the chorus as they shout their way through _I Would Walk 500 Hundred Miles._

Jack shows up a few minutes in, bright-eyed, dressed, and happy to join in; singing right along with the Doctor and Rose. Donna, on the other hand, stumbles in bleary, dressed in a robe with her hair askew, and wearing a frown that could stop a Slitheen.

"What the bloody hell is going on in here? It's 5 in the morning! Don't any of you bloody aliens ever sleep?" she attempts to shout over the singing.

Dropping out of the song to dish up the plates, the Doctor happily and obliviously explains to her about how time works in the Vortex and on the TARDIS. She stares at him balefully as he winds through a one-sided discussion about the difference between linear and nonlinear time, timelines, and relativity as he's serving up pancakes to four plates. Jack and Rose laughingly finish the song as they bring the orange juice, coffee, and tea to the table.

"We do sleep, Donna, about once a week," Rose states with a grin, her tongue caught in her teeth.

"You're all bloody insane, the lot of ya" Donna mutters to herself, reaching for the coffee. "And you," she says as she levels a finger and the same baleful look at Jack, who actually notices it, "yoooouuuuu…..it should be illegal to be so…awake and…chipper," she grinds out, but adds, / _and gorgeous_ / in her head.

Wagging his eyebrows at her suggestively, "Yes, shouldn't it," Jack says with a smug grin that seems to imply he heard her thought as well as teasing her for her words. Donna narrows her eyes at him dangerously and Jack decides it might be a better idea to sit across from her and continues to that side of the table.

Unafraid, Rose plops down right next to Donna, and happily starts telling their companions what she and the Doctor have planned for the day. They'd spent a couple of hours deciding where to go, what to see, and what year to do it in. Discussing it with the TARDIS as well, they have opted for the year 2006 and the city of Victoria on Vancouver Island, British Columbia. The weather would be cold but lovely, and there would be tons to see and do. Best of all, no aliens in the area; and according to everything they could find, it would be a quiet day.

Once everyone was dressed and ready, the Doctor and Rose piloted the TARDIS to an only slightly bumpy landing right beside the Empress Hotel in Victoria, British Columbia. This large, gothic late-Victorian Hotel is exactly what Rose was looking for. Filled with antiques and a scrumptious high-tea, it is one of the highlights for the day.

The four spend their day shopping, eating, listening to music, and generally enjoying the atmosphere as the town is having a great time around them. The Doctor is on high alert after all the events that occurred when he tried to have fun with Rose on the City above Saturn, but even he starts to relax after a while. Surrounded by people having fun, and experiencing everything new through his new companions and Rose, he eagerly joins in the pub-singing, the tea drinking and of course the nibbles.

They have eaten everything from fresh scones with their tea at second breakfast, to sandwiches and petit fours at high tea, and finish their day at The Blarney Stone. Where the group secured a table right in the thick of things due to the Doctor talking his way past the hostess and a flash of the psychic paper. They ate till they nearly burst on Prince Edward Island mussels served in a light curry sauce over drowned oatcakes—heavenly. They drank pint after pint of dark beer, and sang and danced for what seemed like hours to a really spectacular live Celtic band.

Once they had drunk enough that Donna was telling their neighbours about exploding Santas, the Doctor decided it was probably time to head back to the TARDIS. Leaning over to Jack, he suggests moving Donna towards the door. Rose is just on her way back from the loo, so the timing is perfect. Taking her in his arms, the Doctor kisses her to the clapping and cheers of their new pub friends.

Grinning at each other and waving their goodbyes, they follow Jack and Donna to the door. As they all step through outside, Donna and Jack gasp as the chilly air slaps them in the face, and giggle at their breath plumes. Then all four gasp in unison as they look up at the gorgeous half moon in the sky, surrounded by a perfect ring of ice crystals.

"Blimey, tha's pretty," Donna slurs a little.

"Yeah," Jack agrees. Rose notices, he's actually looking at Donna.

"Alright, let's get back to the TARDIS. It's getting late for you humans; time to sleep a portion of your life away," the Doctor teases them. "Must be primed for whatever adventure tomorrow brings!"

Rose smacks him playfully on the shoulder for his comment, thinking back on how many times she'd heard it from both her Doctors. Chatting amiably, they start the three block walk back to the Empress.

Rose lets go of the Doctor's hand to slide back and walk with Donna and Jack as they start laughing about the little drunk, redheaded man that had danced with them earlier in the evening. He'd been hysterical—bouncing around and making a show of his dancing and liberally buying drinks for anyone he deemed friend, while ladling out scathing comments for anyone with a bad attitude. He'd even danced with Jack, who'd taken off his coat, rolled up his sleeves, and danced a super fast whirling jig with the much shorter fellow to the amusement and accolades of the crowd. This earned him a shot of Jameson and a vow of lifelong friendship from Dougie McPherson.

The Doctor is in the lead all the way back towards the TARDIS, his hands in the pockets of his coat, fiddling with his key as they make their way through the streets. Walking just ahead of his three companions, they can't see his indulgent smile as he listens to their giggling and somewhat inebriated retelling of the day's entertainments.

As he's walking along, he can't help but notice that he feels great. At this thought, Rose sends him a wave of love and affection, which causes him to smile even more. Returning the sentiments, he resumes his musing. A year ago, he was miserable—no Rose, feeling like he didn't have a purpose, positive the Universe hated him no matter how many times he performed like a trained dog for its benefit, foggy headed and getting progressively more unstable; he had desperately wanted solutions, and was balked at every turn.

Now, he honestly can't remember being happier. He not only regained Rose, but he has her as his wife—his  _wife_ —Rose Tyler! He has two new companions—one of which he knows well, though they were both different men at the time, and one that he already cares about.

You learn a lot about a person in a crisis, and Donna Noble had been…hilarious (no that's rude), solid (nope), (how about) a real trooper. Honestly, it was Donna that saved them. With Rose still unconscious after falling from the web, it was Donna that had stopped the Doctor from further torturing the Racnoss Empress, giving him enough time to reach a spluttering and groggy Rose and get them all out and on the roof before the water overwhelmed them.

He is also fairly certain that Gallifrey is whole…somewhere. He doesn't know where, and he's still a little uncertain on the how, but he can feel the truth of it in his bones. And that hope…that minuscule spark of possibility gives him purpose again. A need, an excited desire to poke every nook and cranny of this Universe looking for the clue of his home's whereabouts. It doesn't matter how long it takes— he will find it.

Rounding the corner nearest the TARDIS, the Doctor comes to a halt too quickly, and the others nearly bowl him over.

"Wha' the heewlll?" They hear Donna's voice, muffled by Jack's coat as she tries to figure out why they've abruptly stopped moving. She is tucked into Jack's side, ostensibly borrowing part of his coat, but only because it's cold outside…of course--it has nothing to do with how fantastic he smells.

Jack and Rose are peering over the Doctor's shoulder, and all three of them see Dougie McPherson leaning casually against the TARDIS…apparently waiting for them.

"It's alright, Donna. Our friend Dougie came to tell us goodbye, is all," the Doctor states more for Dougie than for Donna, eyeing the man suspiciously.

"Actually, I came to see if you'd be kind enough to give me a ride, Time Lord," Dougie says calmly. Stepping away from the TARDIS, he spreads his hands in the Universal gesture of peaceful intent. "I smelled the Time on ya and yer friends at the pub. Then I followed the singing to your lovely ship. I would greatly appreciate being back in me own time, with me own people. I'm trapped here, ya see."

"You're an alien trapped on Earth? Ohmigod! Are you a real leprechaun, and leprechauns are aliens?" Rose questions excitedly. She loves finding out that the stories from her childhood were actually aliens interacting with her world. It made all those tales of elves and fairies more real.

The Doctor is eyeing the small man critically as Dougie takes a half step forward and gives Rose a deep, respectful bow. "Most Gracious Lady, technically my people are almost as much of Earth as those native to it. While that is a name for the wee people in the hills, this is just how I allow these humans to see me. My people are the Tanu." Finishing his statement, he straightens and releases the hold on the form he's worn for so long. Coming to his full height of nearly two and a half meters, even the Doctor needs to look up at him; which he does now with wide eyes. Dougie has transformed into a very tall slender, beautiful humanoid with long silver hair, dark oddly recessed eyes, and dressed in simple clothes that are obviously not early 21st Century Earth clothing. Most notable beyond his expression of age and experience, is the shining golden torc he wears around his neck.

"Tanu! That's brilliant!" the Doctor exclaims. "But wait, how did you get here, in this time? Your people have been gone for a very, very long time," he says with sadness touched with longing.

"Helll—o…I'm Jack—Jack Harkness," Jack introduces himself with a wave and his usual winning smile.

"Jack, really," Rose smacks him lightly on the shoulder.

"What? I'm just being polite," he whines at her.

"Oi, where did Dougie go? And who are you? God, you're tall. Why are you so tall?" Donna rattles off this string of questions, peering blearily up at him through her beer fog from around Jack's side. "Oh, you're another alien!" Reaching out unsteadily, she swats the Doctor on the shoulder, "You said there weren't any aliens…liar!" -hiccup-

Rubbing his offended shoulder and rolling his eyes at his companion's dramatics, the Doctor steps forward towards the being they had originally referred to as Dougie.

Eyeing him speculatively a moment, he bends at the waist with his arms crossed, hands on shoulders as the Doctor executes a formal bow towards the Tanu. "Peace and Welcome be with you, Honoured traveler. I am the Doctor, of Gallifrey. Would you come share bread and salt at my table?" The Doctor waits patiently for the Tanu's reply, the order and correctness of the hospitality ritual being very important in this instance.

The Tanu stares at the Doctor a moment, an unreadable expression passing over his features—longing? He then replies in kind, "Peace and Gratitude be with you, Honoured Host. I am Dougron, of Duat yth Earth. With gladness I accept the sharing of bread and salt at your table." Both men bow to each other again in the same fashion as before.

This time, as Dougron straightens, he is wearing a wide pleased grin that seems to suit him more than the faraway expression he'd had on earlier.

"It has been a very long time since I was last greeted in such fashion, though my recent awareness only encompasses the past 100 or so Earth years. And you may still call me Dougie. I like how informal it is. I always feel like I'm getting away with something when I tell people it's my name," he says with a mischievous glint in his eyes.

"Well, Dougie, you and the Doctor are going to get along famously then," Rose teases as she comes up to the Doctor's side, taking his hand and squeezing.

Snorting, the Doctor continues, "You met everyone else earlier, so I suggest we head into the TARDIS. She is the very best my hospitality I can offer, and She comes with tea." The Doctor smiles brightly at everyone and opens Her doors, throwing them wide in welcome.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello! Welcome to the start of my next story. If you've read my other two, this one picks up right where Crash Course ended. If you haven't read either of my other two stories, you might want to. :-) I really appreciate your reading and I hope you enjoy it. Please don't forget to review, whether you liked it, or you thought it sucked! :-) Thanks!
> 
> For the first part of this adventure, I took my alien inspiration from Julian May's series of books called the Pliocene Exile. They were written in the 80's, but are still brilliant. I highly recommend reading them.
> 
> Beta'd be the incomparable Ashlanielle


	2. Myths and Legends

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Dougie's tale is revealed.

**Myths and Legends**

Upon entering the TARDIS, Dougie's face is transformed with wonder. Rose, Jack, and Donna hang back a bit as Dougie walks slowly up the ramp and into the Console room proper, waiting for the usual comments. They are disappointed as only the Doctor is prepared for what actually happens.

Walking along the grating around the Console a few paces, Dougie comes to a stop next to a strut. Reaching out hesitantly, he places a hand against the warm coral. Closing his eyes, he seems to be listening. Then tipping his head back, Dougie sings his own greeting to the TARDIS, who flashes Her lights, and returns the salutation in kind. Her song strengthens and grows more noticeable for all of Her companions, even the Humans are able to hear Her more clearly than usual.

The unusual communication only lasts a few moments before Dougie turns to the crew with shining eyes and damp cheeks.

"My apologies, Doctor. That was probably rude not to wait for your introduction, but there are no telepaths on Earth and it has been so long since I heard anything like the Song of my people. I had read of the Time Lord's Temporal Capsules in childhood tales, but I didn't realise they lived. Our Ships lived as well, but they were organisms—huge creatures—and we rode in much smaller ships within them. This is extraordinary. She is lovely and Her voice is a symphony of joy," Dougie says, his voice filled with awe, admiration, and wonder as he gives the strut a small pat of thanks.

Leading the rest of his companions up the ramp, the Doctor reaches Dougie's side and with a nod continues past to stand at the Console, hands splayed on the controls, thinking. He's offered the stranded alien hospitality, but that doesn't necessarily extend to a trip off world. Knowing the history of Dougie's people, the Lené were an interesting race—one of the few aware of Time in a similar way as Time Lords, but unable to manipulate it. The Time War had been hard on them. While Dougie had mysteriously outlived his fractured people who had come to Earth, he would be returning to a Galaxy ravaged by war, and only in the beginning stages of recovery. The Doctor knew his homeworld Duat had survived since  they were more advanced, while many of the daughter worlds had not. His people, though, were different—evolved; much had changed in the 6 million plus years that had passed.  How has Dougie survived, is the question currently burning in the Doctor's agile mind.

Conceding to his curiosity, the Doctor decides to invite Dougie to the library. They have a lot to discuss, and that will be the most comfortable space for it. Feeling Rose's silent agreement and query about tea, he sends her an affectionate affirmative. Taking a moment to look around, he sees Rose head towards the kitchen as Jack shepherds Donna down the hall.

* * *

Rose noticed the shift in the Doctor's mood, and after a quick inquiry, she starts toward the kitchen. Jack turns to her with a look and a head toss at Donna. With a nod and a grin, Rose heads into the kitchen. Jack turns and begins herding a protesting Donna out of the Console room.

" 'm fine," Donna grunts, swatting at Jack as he lets her keep his coat and attempts to lead her to the kitchen if not her room. "I wanna see who's happenin'."

"Okay, Okay," he says, hands in the air. "Let's go make a cup of tea while the Doctor and Rose talk to Dougie, then we'll see about bed."

" 'm not going to bed with you, no matter how gorgeous you are. Not even playin' the same league, you an' me," she says with a raspberry. Jack looks at her in astonishment. In the same sentence she had complimented him (a first) and insulted herself (something that happens much too often in Jack's opinion). With another small hiccup she leans into him, and looking up into his face with big innocent and adorable drunk eyes, she says, "Isn't the TARDIS pretty? She made me a room special just for me."

As they're about to reach the kitchen, she suddenly changes directions, and with a "Need the loo!" she slips out of his supporting arms, and moves unsteadily toward her room, which the TARDIS helpfully moves closer. Afraid she might be about to get sick, Jack hesitates only a moment before following her.

Before he reaches her door, Rose calls out to him from the doorway of the kitchen, "Jack? Did you get Donna situated? She's going to have a rotten headache in the morning. I'll bring her something that will help later."

"I'm just about to make sure she gets to bed. I was thinking of heading to mine afterwards, unless you need me," he replies seriously. All flirting is gone now that he's in caretaker mode. Donna needs help, not innuendo.

"Nah, we're good, just talking. I'm making the tea we promised. We won't leave till morning. I'm hoping I can convince  _himself_  that we have time for one more breakfast at Murchies teahouse. I loved that place, and it will give me the opportunity to pick up some Empress Tea for the TARDIS," she says brightly.

"Okay, goodnight then. Gonna check on Donna," he says with a wave as he steps into Donna's room to check on her.

Rose had heard their muddled conversation, and it hurt her to hear Donna think so negatively of herself. She's hoping that maybe Jack and she can work on that in their coming time together. Thinking of Donna and Jack while she's preparing the tea to bring to the library, Rose pauses. Future Jack hadn't mentioned Donna when he was talking about his team and what they did at Torchwood. He hadn't actually mentioned anything personal, so maybe it was nothing, but it worried Rose a little. Receiving a mental nudge about tea from her impatient Time Lord, (oh the irony) Rose heads to the library with tray in hand and a grin on her face.

* * *

 

Stepping into Donna's room, Jack is expecting to turn towards the loo. Instead, he can hear quiet snoring coming from the direction of the bed. Looking that way, he sees her face down, still fully clothed and sawing away in her stupor. With a smile he goes to the bed, flips her over and removes her shoes. Covering her with a blanket, he leaves her tangled in his coat. Watching her snuggle in and start snoring again, he decides he likes the idea of her sleeping in it, even if it comes back with a little drool. Taking in the image of her sleeping one more time, he snorts softly to himself and leaves her room closing the door softly behind him.

Jack can hear the muffled voices coming from the library and for a second he wishes he was there, too. He'd never heard of the Tanu, and he was always interested in new races…especially handsome ones. As he is considering though, he involuntarily yawns wide enough to crack his jaw, and the day's early beginning and many exertions catch up with him. Sleep suddenly sounds like the best idea ever. Looking back to Donna's door a second, a small gentler smile crosses his face before he starts walking further down the hall to his own room. After the hottest shower he can stand, Jacks slides beneath his own covers. Thinking back over the truly lovely day, he falls asleep and dreams of dancing redheads.

* * *

Still in the Console Room, the Doctor eyes Dougie a moment before speaking. "I need you to know I am aware of your race's history, and the splinter that made the trip here to Earth. A great deal of time has passed and much has happened. I'll leave us parked  _for now,_ " the implications evident in his tone and phrasing.

"Would you care to join me in the library? My Bondmate is making tea," he says, with a tight smile, deliberately stressing their relationship and turns to lead Dougie down the hall. He's feeling very possessive of Rose and the TARDIS all of a sudden, and he's unsure why.

There is something about Dougie that the Doctor wants instinctively to trust, which conversely raises a warning flag. There isn't anything Dougie can do to harm him, but he could hide things about himself. And what about harm to Rose or their companions? Whether he's dangerous or not doesn't really matter  _yet_ , the Doctor is just wary…for now.

He has offered hospitality in the customs of the Tanu and Dougie accepted. That makes them both constrained by certain rules of conduct. He'd bound them on purpose, thinking it's the best way to guarantee his companions safety, but rules were only important to those who followed them. Whatever happened, this would be an interesting night.

Continuing to explore his options, he could even choose to be excited about talking to Dougie. He hasn't ever met a  _torced_  Tanu. The Lené he knows, are much more evolved now. Dougie is a bit vintage, even by Time Lord standards. Both races were long-lived and had developed a broad range of mental abilities. Unlike Time Lords though, the Tanu developed latently with very few of them actually able to utilise their gifts fully. That is where the torcs came in. The Tanu had invented a way to not only access their latent abilities, but completely unlock them using them as easily as breathing—with the use of the torcs. Now, this is ancient history, as is the story of how he got here on Earth.  _Why_  he's still here, now  _that_  will be a good story.

Dougie follows the Doctor willingly to the library. He can feel the Time Lord's reticence. He understands it. Remembering his own people, Dougie is positive it's warranted. He has hidden for so long among the humans, that just being able to use his own shape is comforting. Masquerading as a 5 foot tall crazy Irishman took a lot of energy to maintain, but it had been worth it. Look at what had become of the small gracile hominids—absolutely astonishing!

"Right then, where would you like to start? Rose will be here momentarily with refreshments," The Doctor says to Dougie as they enter the library. Turning and expecting to lead the Tanu to a chair by the fire, he sees that Dougie has been lured by the view out the window. Thinking he should be used to this fascination with the spectacle by now, the Doctor rolls his eyes and joins Dougie at the display.

"Great Tana, this is magnificent! I assume it is holographic, but the depth of detail is amazing. Is this your home world Doctor?" Dougie asks, not looking away from the vista before him, but notices the nod peripherally. Today, it is near dawn, and the suns are nearly conjoined—the smaller yellow star mere degrees above the horizon and the limb of the larger sun moments from appearing. Pazithi Gallifreya is still visible, setting on the opposite horizon, coloured a deep reddish purple by the atmosphere.

"The view makes me feel strange, Doctor. Why is that? I sense a profound sadness that is tempered by a burning hope. It is very confusing," Dougie says as he turns from the view toward the Doctor.

Leading Dougie back toward the seating, they arrange themselves around the fire as the Doctor says, " _That_  is a long and complicated story. Let's start with yours; it will actually be shorter, if you can believe it. Then I can bring you up to speed on the now." Just as he finishes, Rose comes in with a selection of snacks, jams, toast, and a tin of his favourite biscuits. The TARDIS helpfully expands the table and places the tea service on it for Rose.

"Hi, boys, tea is served!" she says happily. Rose likes Dougie. She liked him in the pub and she likes him now. She isn't worried about why she feels that way, but she wants to help him and she trusts him. She knows the Doctor is unsure, but he can sometimes be suspicious by nature.  _/Especially if there's someone in the room who may be just as impressive,/_  she thinks very privately to herself and smothers the accompanying smirk as she pours the tea.

"Ooo, nibbles! Thanks, Rose. Oh, and look Dougie, Dampson Plum jam. It's my current favourite. Have you ever tried it? It's simply marvellous…." The Doctor's enthusiasm over the snacks completely shifts the mood of the small conference. Time is spent trying all the jams on bits of toast or biscuit, even mixing some of the flavours. Much hilarity ensues over Dougie's expression when trying mint and strawberry together. They all deem that one a solid 'NO!' and continue amiably chatting about the safely ambiguous topic of food.

Once sated, they return to the reason for the evening and the exchanging of stories. They are arranged around the fire with Dougie in one of the chairs and Rose and the Doctor snuggled together on the loveseat—their favourite spot. Per the Doctor's suggestion, Dougie begins with how his people came to Earth…

"I will start with a small history of my people before the beginning of my adventure, and my apologies if you are already familiar with the tale." Rose shakes her head, excited with the prospect of learning something new. With a smile at her enthusiasm, the Doctor kisses the top of her head and gestures for Dougie to continue.

"In my time, my people come from a planet called Duat, in the Galaxy of the same name. It is many billions of light years from your Milky Way. We are a dimorphic race split amongst two peoples—the Tanu and the Firvulag. While both of us were metapsychically gifted, our talents were just as split as our physiology. I do not understand why our Goddess Tana felt we must be divided, but divided we were—in everything.  _Our_  gifts were latent, and we invented the torcs to access them, making us more powerful than we would have been naturally. The Firvulag's gifts were operant, but much weaker. Their advantage lay in their sturdier though shorter-lived physiology. Oh, this is all such ancient history, and has only a little to do with why  ** _I_**  am here, but My Lady, your enthusiasm and curiosity encourage me to ramble through a history lesson," he says, smiling at Rose.

"I'm sorry!" Rose says, flushing. "It's so fascinating, please continue. And just call me Rose. What do you mean by ancient history? You said earlier that you'd only been aware for the past 100 years, here on Earth." Catching the look that passes between the Doctor and Dougie, it is the Doctor who answers.

"The Tanu reached Earth at a time when humans hadn't evolved yet, around 6 million years ago, when the Mediterranean Sea was a dry basin and mammals were evolving to enjoy the golden era of climate and resources before the last Great Ice Age. The Tanu are almost as long-lived as the Time Lords, but none of us can live  **that**  long without assistance. That's the part I'm curious about. You were either born here or arrived, but how are you  _still_  here?" the Doctor finished with a question. Rose is still open mouthed in wonder at the time frame involved.

"Yes, Doctor, that is the question, isn't it? I can answer part of it, but please indulge me while I finish how we came here for your Bondmate. It has been some time since I could be honest with anyone about my origins and I find it soothing," Dougie says, spreading his hands in entreaty with a small smile of apology for the Doctor.

"Indeed, it is still rude to interrupt the Bard in the midst of his story, even nowadays. Please continue," the Doctor says with a wave of his hand, like some King of old Britain. Rose smacks him playfully for being a prat and he wags his eyebrows at her, winking. Turning back to Dougie, they see he is waiting patiently for them, an indulgent smile on his face.

With a nod, Dougie picks up the story and continues, "The Tanu and Firvulag were sworn enemies. And for thousands of years we fought back and forth over our planet. Our civilisation suffered from the constant fighting, and would have developed much further and hopefully better if we had not continued to indulge in the childish hatred. We eventually winnowed the conflict down to ritual fighting only; our elected Champions from both sides fighting to the death in a religious ritualised war that masked the deep wound in our collective psyche. The Grand Combat, as it was called, was considered the height of our civilisation for centuries. Until our Ancestors returned.

"Millennia before, in our childhood, we had spread throughout the stars, we had many daughter worlds; and we were a mighty empire. Somehow, due to time, politics, or other advancements, our home world was lost to the rest of the empire. And alone over time, our race split into our two peoples. We devolved; and we lost access to the stars and to the rest of our race. It had been so long, that they were the stuff of legends, the Lené—the United, what we once had been. The Lené were our people who still traveled and were nurtured on the daughter worlds in the light of true civilisation—not fallen as we had. They continued to evolve as a single society.

"We thought we lived happily, or unhappily for some, squabbling our way through the years on our home planet, Duat. When the Lené found us again, most of our peoples, both Tanu and Firvulag, were enthusiastic about the renewed hope and knowledge our Ancestors brought back to us. We were so tired of the constant fighting, the constant enmity. We wanted to be whole again.

"A faction of both Tanu and Firvulag vehemently disagreed, arguing that this was our racial history that they, the Lené, were taking away. ' _We_ ' didn't want to live as one  _with our enemies_ , have children  _with our enemies_ …become one again— ** _with our enemies_**. The Grand Combat was more important, and those who opposed the Lené would not be stopped.

"Much threatening, negotiating, peace makers and diplomats were exchanged on both sides—the Lené and the Divided. At the end of it all, a thousand who did not wish to remain, left. We persuaded a Lené Shipspouse, Brede, to help us; and we took off for the stars, looking for a likely planet where we could continue killing ourselves in peace!" This last, Dougie almost shouts. He is obviously affected by his story.

Taking a few deep breaths to calm himself, and smiling apologetically at the surprised look on Rose and the Doctor's faces, Dougie explains, "My apologies. I did have a choice, but my wife was part of high Lady Boanda's retinue and a true believer. Boanda was wife to Kuhal one of our Champions and very influential among the Tanu. My wife was devoted to her and I could watch her leave or I could join her.

"I was, well I guess I still am, an anthropologist. I had been fascinated by the remnants of our forefathers. When the Lené returned, I was overjoyed. My theories that we were never meant to be a divided people were proved correct, and I wanted to be a part of the Renewal.

"My wife, as shield maiden for Boanda, felt the exact opposite. I loved my wife very much, you can imagine the difficulty of the choice." Spreading his hands in a gesture of frustrated acceptance, Dougie sees understanding on his listeners' faces. He can see how wrapped together their energies are, but he also sees the barely healed scar tissue of separation and finds their empathy comforting.

"We fled Duat in a Ship piloted by Brede Shipspouse. As I mentioned earlier, our Ships were also living creatures. They returned to us with the Lené and gave us back the stars. They were piloted by certain female Lené called Shipspouses, that were raised to enter into a symbiotic binding with the Ship. With the aid of the Shipspouse, a quasi-living and mechanical 'ship' was built inside the larger organism. In this smaller vessel within the great Ship, the Lené had access to faster than light—superluminal travel. The Ships were able to access a null space we called Limbo that links all space. Traveling through it they could translate from one location to the next. The only downside of this method of travel was the pain. The grey Limbo was no place and cannot sustain life. Usually these translations would take minutes or hours; and it is one of the tasks of the Shipspouse to ease the suffering of her Ship.

"It was much too long a translation for our Ship and It gave Its life to get us here. We were in grey Limbo for what seemed like forever, though it was only a month. We were terrified we would be lost there and never reach normal space again. The constant pain and terror of superluminal travel is nothing I ever wish to experience again, or wish on any other living being. We tried to ameliorate the suffering of the Ship with our gifts, but there was only so much we could do, and with one final effort It was able to pierce the veil and we came through into normal space broken and falling above this shining, virginal planet.

Next to Rose, the Doctor shivers in dread.  The idea of traveling through the Void is terrifying enough, but the thought of moving within it for a solid month is beyond comprehension, especially in the belly of a living creature.  He can't imagine how horrific the translation must have been.  Feeling a greater respect for the Tanu than previously, he focuses again on Dougie's tale.

"The translation had been too long in other ways as well and strained the already tense truce between my Tanu and the Firvulag. The Kings immediately began sniping at one another. Orders were given to abandon the dead ship and it was one of the last tasks we did together. It could not be piloted alone with mechanicals, so we began filing into the smaller transport Fliers, desperate to flee in our sorrow and renewing enmity. We departed the hulk of our once magnificent ship, singing our grief and gratitude in funereal respect as we swept an orbit around our new home to determine where we would settle. We gathered one final time at the grave of the ship to sing our respects once the area had cooled and was safe. I am sure the mighty scar was visible from space.

"As the Doctor mentioned earlier, the dry seabed was determined to be the perfect battle ground for the Grand Combat, and we settled and built our cities around it. I was almost immediately disillusioned with what we were calling civilisation on this, our new planet. We immediately enslaved the native hominids, knowing that they were millions of years away from realising their potential. Falling into the same patterns as previously, we began killing each other, calling it 'religious devotion'. Fah! It was lunacy.

"Luckily, I had made friends, and I was allowed to keep one of the fliers for myself. I would go for months at a time investigating this new world. It was one of the most perfect planets I had ever studied in its first maidenly blush. We thought it eminently compatible, but it wasn't too long before we realised this new sun's radiation caused us Tanu to be nearly infertile. The Firvulag seemed to be less susceptible to it. I thought it was a brilliant irony, that to continue we would have to interbreed with our 'sworn' enemies to maintain our population. Much to my disgust, that was not the case. While interbreeding was accepted, the babies were taken from the mothers and placed with whichever side they most resembled…maintaining the divide! They even tried using the small hominids to incubate the fetuses. More Lunacy! I and some of our geneticists tried to no avail to persuade the Kings that this was not a solution. We needed the unity to survive on this planet, but the Great Combat was deemed more important. Short-sighted ignorant morons.

"I couldn't take it any longer. My wife and I had grown completely apart, and only saw each other when required by formal events. I took my ship, supplied it till it was stuffed to the point of discomfort and I left. I could no longer be stifled by my own people and their backward ideals. My flier could not travel away from the planet, but I explored every nook and cranny, observing the immense diversity of life and climate. I cannot do any of it justice in just descriptions. It was magnificent and I was determined to have the time of my life.

"The end of my tale comes in the far North of this very continent. I was exploring the ice fields and researching the local fauna: seals, whales, and some really fascinating enormous toothed fish that preyed on the mammals voraciously. The icepack I had parked on suddenly split away from the main formation just as I was leaving the ship. At the same time, a battling great whale and toothed fish rammed my small floating ice raft. I and my flier were unceremoniously dropped into the frigid waters. I was able to reach my flier, but the salt water had damaged the controls. Risking hypothermia and drowning, I was able to seal one compartment and reach a life pod. I could see I was sinking rapidly, and could feel the pressure increasing as I fell. I knew entering the life pod, that it was probably a futile effort, but not feeling like dying that day, I programmed it for cryogenics, and went to sleep hoping that someone would notice the beacon and rescue me." Smiling ruefully, he pauses a moment to enjoy a sip of tea. His audience is completely enthralled with his tale and part of him is pleased that he can do the story some justice. His own people had never considered him particularly skilled in the Bardic arts.

Setting the tea aside, he brings his tale up to their current experience. "Obviously, I wasn't rescued. I don't know if the beacon ever worked. I lay at the bottom of the ocean for millions of years…I would even find it hard to believe if I didn't have the obvious evidence to prove it. I assume eventually through currents, uplift, and who knows what else, my pod ended up at the top of the ice flow. A local Inuit family found me, and thinking I was some God from the sea, they broke me free. Amazing isn't it, that Nature's own forces of grinding stone and ice couldn't crack my egg, but one man, two women, and three children were able to do it with stone axes and one lone steel knife? Personally, I think one of the children accidentally triggered the awakening sequence. Little Agutah had some latent abilities, and her parents called her 'little priestess', obviously aware of her gifts.

"I had been asleep so long, it took weeks and weeks for me to recover. I learned their language, and their kindness and sympathy was well rewarded when I taught Agutah how to use her gifts. Their tribe valued the women priestesses above all other members, and she provided her family with much status—as did my presence. But I couldn't allow them to revere me; it wasn't right. I planned for several weeks on how I would go about leaving. I didn't want to damage their primitive culture by leaving a true memory of my stay. I needed to become fantasy.

"Once I was completely healed, I volunteered for a hunting trip with the men. Thinking that they would be luckier than usual if I went along, they allowed it. I helped them secure more seals than they had all season, then I masked myself as a sacred Polar Bear—the Inuit call them Nanuk. Thinking I had returned to my natural form, they cheered for me and sang me away. Their faith was humbling. Finding my life pod again, I took from it what I could and set it to destruct. The small thermal event went completely unnoticed by everyone, except a few wandering sea birds. Turning South, I began walking. It was many months before I reached true civilisation, and I was ill prepared for the surprise.

"I learned what I could from the locals in the cities and towns as I continued South, hiding myself and choosing to resemble the humans around me. Finally reaching Vancouver, I decided to mask myself as a youth and go to University. The year was 1970. I was astonished at what I learned, the great deal of time that had passed, and next to no mention of my people or their cities. We were reduced to fairy tales and legend, a much rosier legend than the truth at least. The stories of Lugh Lamfada and Cúchulainn are much more entertaining than the truth behind them, I can assure you. Even turning High King Thagdal into a hero as the Dagda! -snort- Arrogant ass!" Looking up from his hands with a sad grin, he looks directly at the Doctor when he asks, "Can you tell me what happened to my people, Doctor? I feel like I am the only one of my kind remaining on a planet I no longer recognise."

"Well…erm…Yes and no." Not sure exactly where to begin, the Doctor is grateful for Rose's interruption.

"Wait! Hang on a second…the Dagda? You mean the legends of the Sidhe are real?! I knew it!" Rose exclaims excitedly. "My mum gave me a book as a child with all the Celtic Hero stories in it. The Hound of Cúchulainn, Lugh of the Long Arm and his shining spear, the Morrigan, Balor One-Eye—he could shoot a beam from it that killed….Oh my God! I can't believe they're real. So some of your people must have survived, for a while at least, since I know my own ancestors weren't capable of speech, let alone the passing down of stories 6 million years ago. Our current civilisation is only a few thousand years old as it is."

Laughing at Rose's enthusiasm, Dougie remarks, "Pallol did indeed have only one eye, but his illusions couldn't kill unless you believed them. And Gracious Lady…Rose, I assumed you were a Time Lord…your energy appears….are you Human?" Dougie asks, confusion evident by his expression. Looking to the Doctor for confirmation, he gets a wink and a grin as a reply.

"Well, I started out human. Just a normal, easily bored, selfish teenager. That is until I met this alien," she bumps shoulders with the Doctor, who smiles at her indulgently. "He told me to 'run' and we did. Later I made the mistake of falling in love with this same silly alien." The muffled 'Oi!' that comes from the Doctor around a biscuit makes Rose giggle. "We traveled the Universe together, and then we were…separated. I was lost to a parallel Universe and nearly died." Taking a deep breath and letting the sadness these memories carry with them recede, Rose continues, "Then with help from an impossible friend, I was returned to my own Universe and in the process I was gifted with enough Time Lord-y bits to become one once I regenerated." She turns her teasing smile on the Doctor, knowing he would hate the 'Time Lord-y bits' part. "At that point, I decided that he really gets into way too much trouble on his own, so I made him my Bondmate!" She finishes with a grin that lights the room and does nothing to hide the mischief in her eyes at the humour in her version of the extremely shortened story.

Snorting at her joke, the Doctor hugs her to himself, "Takes two, Rose Tyler. Luckily for you, I went willingly."

"Willingly, was it?" she teases him, thinking back on all the running he'd done trying to figure out how to feel about himself, her, and them.

Turning back to Dougie, they both laugh at the stunned expression on his face. "My apologies, your informality is so…human. It is comforting. I've come to love what the native species has become. They are so ingenious and creative. Unfortunately capable of such horrible mistakes, but generally brilliant creatures," he says with a grin.

With a matching grin filled with fellowship, the Doctor stands, saying, "Well, Rose is right. We will get along famously. At some point, maybe I'll tell you my own story of how I stole this magnificent Time ship and ran away from my own people to explore the Universe. I doubted you earlier, and I shouldn't have."

Choosing to use a very human method of greeting, the Doctor thrusts his hand out for Dougie to shake. Standing as well and with some surprise, Dougie takes the Doctor's hand enthusiastically, aware of the conscious decision to touch another telepath. "Welcome to my Ship. She's called a TARDIS, Time And Relative Dimensions In Space. She's already decided She likes you, and Rose likes you, so who am I to disagree?" he teases the taller man.

"Ahhh, that explains why She is much bigger on the inside, I had wondered," Dougie says, glancing around.

"Ha, finally! That settles it; you can stay," the Doctor says, laughing.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi there! I hope you enjoyed this next chapter. The Celtic legends are told in many books, but my favorites are in the Riders of the Sidhe series by Kenneth C. Flint. If you're interested pick them up. They're a very fun read.
> 
> Ash suggested a small pronunciation guide, so here you go.
> 
> Lene: Lenya
> 
> Sidhe: Shee
> 
> Cuhulainn: Cooley
> 
> I hope that helps a bit. Let me know if any of it is confusing. Thanks for reading and reviewing. Cheers! :-)


	3. The More the Merrier

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Rose and the companions enjoy the day in Vancouver, while the Doctor and Dougie bond during TARDIS tinkering.

**The More, The Merrier**

Blinking somewhat owlishly at the swift change in his fortune, Dougie smiles tentatively at the Doctor and Rose.

"Oh, thank you, Doctor. I apologise for the burden of my unforeseen presence upon your generous hospitality. Please allow me to help in any way that is appropriate. I would like to earn my passage." The earnestness in Dougie's expression causes Rose and the Doctor to smile broadly at him.

Clapping him on the shoulder, the Doctor reassures him as they head toward the door out of the library, "No need, my friend, for the formality or the apologies. Travel in my ship is nothing like the great Ships of Duat. She is so much more than superluminal, travel is sometimes nearly instant. If you're interested in the science-y bits we'll talk later! That distance should take us a few minutes in the Vortex, but no more. And trust me, it only hurts when the TARDIS is grumpy," the Doctor says with an enormous grin, as he leads Dougie toward the doors of the TARDIS.

Dougie is amused as the TARDIS expresses her disapproval through a deeper hum and a dimming of lights. The Doctor and Rose get the full communication…

**_~Or the piloting is inferior, my Thief!~_ **

Rose snorts, and has to turn away to not laugh out loud at Darling's cheeky assertion. The Doctor, on the other hand, sends her a mental raspberry and continues talking to Dougie.

"I assume you have arrangements you need to make and items you may wish to bring, so I will stay parked here for another 24 hours. I know Rose wants to go walking downtown again and acquire more of that truly disagreeable tea. Ow!" He yelps at her swat. Turning a rueful smile to Dougie, the Doctor looks for a bit of sympathy, "Tyler women, Dougie…they always have a slap ready and loaded. You've been warned."

Laughing at his new friends and feeling bold enough to tease back, "Indeed Doctor, I can see how she could have her hands full keeping you in line."

"You have no idea, mate. Just you wait till the explosions and running start!" Rose says, giggling at the Doctor's affronted look.

"I do have some few things I need to take care of before vanishing completely, and I know our tales are not complete. I feel your reluctance to tell me what has happened to my people, but I need to know. I have no place in the Universe, and I need a reason…to continue within it," he finishes quietly, obviously saddened.

Taking Dougie's hand in hers, it's Rose that comes to the rescue this time. "Dougie, please do not feel guilty for surviving. You had no way of knowing, and the choice wasn't yours to make. The Universe must have more for you to do or you'd just be a smear in a rock next to some petrified whale poo, waiting for a palaeontologist to dig you up," she says. Smiling at his answering grin, she continues, "You're here now.  _We_  generally have no idea what we're doing until something happens anyway. You're what has happened this time. So we'll get you sorted, and then continue our way through the Universe like a pinball bouncing from one adventure to the next!"

Laughing outright at her humour, and the Doctor's 'Oi!' of disgruntled affront, Dougie bows to them before exiting the TARDIS. "Thank you very much, Rose Tyler, Doctor; I will be back tonight and thank you for the opportunity…whatever that opportunity may be." With another small wave, he exits the TARDIS and the Doctor and Rose follow him out to lean against the doors in the pre-dawn chill.

They watch Dougie transform back into the short, red-headed fellow from the previous night as he turns the corner, then looking around them they notice the sky is just starting to lighten. Rose is gazing up at the sky wondering which way Dougie's galaxy lies, when the Doctor abruptly takes her hand. Looking at him, she sees the manic grin in place. "Come on Rose Tyler, adventure awaits!" He immediately turns and drags her to the side of the hotel.

Rose looks up following his gaze and sees the emergency ladder to the fire escape that he'd obviously noticed. Eyes dancing, she knows exactly what he wants to do now. Allowing him to boost her up she easily reaches the ladder and pulls it down for them. They scramble their way up the fire escape all the way to one of the roofs of the Empress Hotel. Being an enormous Victorian edifice, it has a walkway at the very peak of the roof, and only that particular height will satisfy the Doctor this morning. It takes them awhile, and a few narrow escapes from the early staff going about their business, but they finally manage to locate the door that leads them to a certain stair and the pinnacle of the building. Reaching the empty flag pole, Rose leans back into the Doctor's arms as they watch the stars wink out and the sun rise over the Cascade Mountains in the distance, turning the snow on the peaks to molten gold and then silver.

"It's very kind of you to offer help to Dougie, but what  _can_  we do for him? He can't go back—he wasn't there, and what if he doesn't want to go forward? I'm worried about him. His people were involved in the Time War, weren't they? That's why you've been dodging the topic." She feels his sad amusement even before she hears his chuckle.

"Rose Tyler, I…well let's start with, I love you," he says, grinning into her hair and squeezing her, mingling his delight in the gorgeous sunrise with his love for her and wrapping her in these sensations. "You always know. Even when I'm being a complete arse, you always know what to say or ask. I'm not sure he can't go back. I will have to do some research, but his impact on what happened  _6 million years ago_  would be minor. Even knowing what he does about the future wouldn't stop the events of so long ago or the evolution of his people on this planet. No, but I don't think he'd want to stay. The quirks of their society that drove him away only got worse in the thousand years after his departure. It  _is_  a little weird how similar our stories are though," he muses.

"You think?" Chuckling, she asserts, "I knew as soon as we saw him unmasked, that you two were similar. There are some interesting patterns to your energies that almost mirror one another, though obviously you're different species. What the torc can do is amazing. We spent a lot of time with him at the pub and I had no idea he wasn't human. Did you?"

"Nope. No clue at all, which as you say, is amazing…impressive even. Not too impressive, but.."

"Oh, shut up!" Rose says with a laugh and teases, "He gets to be a little impressive, Time Lord. And stop avoiding my other question." She swats him playfully, but takes any of the sting out by turning in his arms and snogging him thoroughly.

"Rose!" he exclaims, once he has breath to say anything at all. "I wasn't avoiding your…," he stops that line of thought at her look, and decides to just give up, "Oh, alright! Yes, his people were involved in the Time War. Six million years is a long time on both sides of this Universe of ours, and his people evolved in both places and entirely differently. Genetically, it is really quite fascinating that the differences from solar radiation and the influx of alien DNA, as well as other environmental factors would have on their development. I should get some samples from Dougie before we enter the Vortex and add Artron energy to his make up. I wonder if the Sidhe would consider…."

"Doctor!" Rose bursts back into his musings with yet another swat delivered with a laugh. He really is adorable when he gets caught up in a new theory or hypothesis, and of course any puzzle is nearly impossible for him to resist.

"Wha..oh, right Sorry. Yes, the Lené were one of our allies. Dimensionally, they haven't evolved as far as their counterparts here, which in this case is a double edged sword. They are only able to perceive Time as another metapsychic function. During the War, it made them extremely valuable to us when attempting to determine where the next battles would be, but it also made them exceptionally vulnerable to Timeline collapses. They haven't developed to the point where they are energetically involved with the next dimensional levels, so they don't have the ability to hold more than one timeline in their minds, and couldn't maintain the different sets of memories. They burned—from the mind out. It was horrible Rose, but they still volunteered to continue helping us—so brave." As those memories wash over him, Rose can feel the stark anguish at the losses and the bitter reminder of the waste, as well as glimpses of the accompanying images. She regrets forcing him to tell her, since he'll only have to do it again for Dougie and in greater detail.

"I'm sorry, luv. I should have guessed it would have been horrible. I don't need to know the rest yet. I'll found out when Dougie does. I was just impatient; I'm sorry," she apologises again, burying her face in his coat and his embrace. Trying to make up for it, she wraps his mind tightly in her love for him. He accepts her apology and basks in the sun of his Rose's regard, allowing it to burn away his sorrow and give him the strength he'll need for later.

He's just about to show his appreciation, when they are interrupted by the man whose job it is to hang the red and white maple leaf standard on the naked pole they've been leaning against. At his startled "Eh!" the Doctor grabs Rose's hand and grins at her, yelling, "Run!"

It takes a hefty amount of sneaky manoeuvring and some very convincing acting to get through the building and out the doors unmolested. Finally making it around the corner and in sight of the TARDIS, they burst out laughing. Hardly able to stand, they both lean against the building a minute to catch their breath before continuing to the TARDIS.

When they reach the doors of their beloved Ship, the Doctor sweeps Rose into his arms and buries his face in her hair, breathing the scent of her mingled with sweat from their morning exertions and the additional spice of Time—his Rose. She returns the impromptu but intense embrace. She had felt the emotional side of his continued musings as they had made their escape and hadn't wanted to intrude. She knew what he was thinking by the gambit his feelings had run, but now she can utilise their contact to share her own feelings with him.

Tipping her head slightly, she brings their foreheads together and shares with him how happy she is. How much where she is, and what they are doing,  _is_  the dream she was afraid could never be fulfilled. She is exactly where she wants to be and maybe if he's feeling frisky, he'll let her show him exactly what that means if their companions are still asleep.

Head now filled not only with Rose's intense and abiding love, but also with images that make him blush, he kisses her lightly on the forehead. Trying desperately to focus on turning off the sudden naked flare of lust and want that she watched fill his eyes only moments before, he thinks about the most unsexy thing he can—pears. With a snort, she leans in and nips his earlobe before passing him and entering the TARDIS.

With a jaunty and mocking bow he smacks her backside as she passes and grins in reply to the yelp of surprise as he pulls the doors shut behind them.

Darling assures her that Jack and Donna are indeed asleep and likely to remain that way a couple more hours at least. Delighted, Rose turns back to the Doctor as he comes up the ramp still wearing a smirk. He sees a big toothy and decidedly wicked grin break across Rose's face. With matching raised eyebrows, she leans forward snatching his tie, and firmly starts pulling him past the Console and out of the room. Heat returning at the implications, the Doctor growls and stooping, grabs Rose throwing her over his shoulder in a fireman's carry. They head out of the Console room with Rose giggling and pounding on his back in half-hearted protest.

* * *

Donna awakens feeling like she's been run over by a lorry and with her head pounding out an arrhythmic beat of pain. Groaning she rolls over to clutch her skull and see what time it is. Struggling for a moment with the covers she's wrapped up in, she noticed several things at once. First, she's still dressed. Secondly, she's wrapped up in Jack's coat, and third, the red numerals on her clock are too damn bright!

Suddenly, beside the clock appears a glass of water, a couple of pills, and a short note from Rose saying the pills should help with how she's feeling. A little startled by the abrupt appearance, Donna is grateful for the assist.

"I hope these are some alien pills that cure everything," she says out loud. Swallowing them and then laying back, she tries to remember what happened the night before. Somehow she ended up in Jack's coat in her bed. She remembers everything up to the pub, then it starts to get hazy. There's something about a dancing leprechaun, and then… nope all gone. Well, she hasn't had a hangover like this since Uni.

"Bugger…ohhhhh…," she groans. She lays there a few more minutes trying in vain to remember, then she gives in, and tries to get up to shower.

As she delicately rolls over levering herself out of the bed, she is delighted to find that her head is already starting to clear, and the pounding is letting up. Making her way to the shower, she goes about her normal morning routine.

After dressing, Donna returns to her bed to retrieve Jack's coat. It is laid out neatly on the bench at the end of her freshly made bed, ready for her to take. She still isn't used to such treatment, so as she leaves the room, she gives the wall a little deliberate pat in thanks.

Exiting her room, she hears voices coming from what she thinks is the direction of the kitchen, and heads off that way. Her stomach is starting to growl, and she could kill for some toast and coffee. Today is definitely a coffee day.

Happily, she's right and the conversation leads her directly to the kitchen, where everyone is chatting amiably over the remains of breakfast. Jack stands and hands her a cup of coffee across the table before she can even say hello or sit down.

"Uh…thanks?" she says, unsure how he could know she wanted coffee. "Here's your coat, I don't think I drooled on it," she says with a smirk. Her words sound more confident than she feels, however. Donna wants desperately for everyone to think she's totally cool, but really, she's feeling a little out of her depth this morning. Making a conscious decision to just relax and go with the flow, she tries to chalk her feelings up to the remains of her hangover.

Taking the coat from her as he hands her the coffee, he replies with a smile, "It wouldn't have mattered if you had." Inwardly, he struggles against the desire to lift his coat and smell her on it.

 _/Down boy!/_  he thinks to himself in amusement.

"Did you get the medication I asked the TARDIS to send you?" Rose asks, sipping her own cup of tea.

"I did!" Donna blurts out, grateful for not having to reply to Jack as she joins them at the table. "Thank you, they really did the trick. I feel nearly human again." Taking a hesitant sip of the coffee, she exclaims in surprise, "Oi, this is perfect! How'd you know how I like my coffee?" Donna asks, looking at Jack as if he's grown another head.

Jack chuckles at the expression.

Setting his coat to the side, he fesses up, "I didn't. It appeared on the table about 3 seconds before you walked in, so I assumed the TARDIS intended it for you. She must like you best. We all had to make our own." His cheeky grin earns him a flicker of the lights from the TARDIS.

Laughing, he sits back down and hands Donna the plate of toast. "I assume you'd like some of this. It was about all I felt like trying to eat this morning. I feel okay, but I didn't want to push it," he says like he's had plenty of hangover experiences, and this is far from the worst.

"Yeah, exactly. Thanks."

"So what happened to our new friend from last night? I sort of expected to see him this morning," Jack says leaning back to stretch.

"Who? Oh…I remember! Tall guy, white hair, weird eyes, singin'….then…," Donna trails off and begins furiously to blush.

With an amused smirk that's wiped off his face by Rose kicking him under the table, The Doctor decides against teasing Donna further, and just answers Jack's question.

"Well, let's see…the short version is that he's a stranded alien; the very last of his people, and we're going to help him. He's from a galaxy clear across the Universe from here, and what remains of what his people became are there. So hopefully we'll be making a 'trip to the farthest reaches of known spaaaaace," he says wide-eyed, finishing the sentence like one of the old black and white movies from the beginning of the 20th Century and with his hands up, fingers wriggling in the air.

Rose giggles at him and adds to the story, "Some of Dougie's people came here 6 million years ago, is what the Doctor means. Dougie was trapped in a cryo-pod and only awoke recently. Since he wasn't involved in any of the events so long ago, we don't really want to take him back, but his people now, fought with the Time Lords in the Time War, and the Doctor says they suffered. So, really there isn't any one good option, but we want to help, and we'll see what he wants to do once he has the whole story. He'll be back tonight after he takes care of his affairs."

Both Donna and Jack are motionless, attempting to digest the information. The amount of linear time involved is incomprehensible to both of them. Jack has some experience with time travel, but has never gone so far forward or back. Donna is completely at a loss. Jaw open and with toast poised halfway to her mouth, she tries very hard to imagine waking from dinosaurs to airplanes. With a shake of her head, she dismisses it entirely and decides her toast is currently more important.

"Well, I want to go into town again," Donna says decidedly, after finishing her toast. There was this little jewellery shop on a corner that had the prettiest earrings and other pieces made by the local native tribe, the Salish. With their incised patterns of whales and Thunderbirds, she'd regretted not getting a set yesterday. She isn't going to waste today's opportunity.

"I want to go back to Murchie's," Rose says, with an arched brow at the Doctor. "They have the best tea selection, and I'd like to pick some up for the TARDIS. Maybe I can talk the owner out of the recipe for his scones; they are gorgeous!"

"Me, too! Me, too!" Jack exclaims. "I totally wanted to…." The three start having a lively conversation about the places they'd noticed yesterday that hadn't yet been explored and begin making plans to remedy the fact. The Doctor gets up from the table and leans back against the counter, cup of tea in hand, and watches the banter. The happy sounds of teasing and laughter had been missing from the TARDIS for a long time, and it still surprises him in moments like this, how right it all feels.

Rose is still deep in the thick of the planning, but notices that the Doctor isn't participating; he's leaned back watching them wearing a contented little smile that warms her heart. Still enveloped in the conversation, she reaches out for him.

- _Hello-_

His smile deepens a touch at the contact and their little joke.

_-Hello-_

_-So I take it you're not joining us? Darling had mentioned something about lines and connections, fluid thingies and what not…Are you staying to tinker, or do you need some alone time?-_  Rose asks with a mental smirk.

_-Oh, I'm good, but I would like to fix the Quantum Vortex Stabilisation Equalisers, which are micro thin tubes filled with superheated bio-electric neutrinos, and connect through…those thingies you mentioned…yes.-_

Rose almost laughs out loud at him, but instead sends him a burst of her happy golden laughter mentally _._

 _-Is that all?-_  She jokes.

_-Really, Rose. I'm great—actually, everything's great. It worries me a little, to tell you the truth. This is usually when the explosions start.-_

_-Oi, now you've you jinxed it!-_

_-Nah. You should go with them. Have a good time. Oh, and I'll love you forever and ever if you bring back some of those banana muffins! I could live on them. Mmmmmmm-_

_-So your forever is contingent on banana muffins, is it?-_

_-Weeellll, today it is,-_ he finishes, sending her a wave of warm purple promise, spiced with images from this morning activities.

Rose's delicate blush, follows the Doctor chuckling from the room, as he heads to a storage closet for the protective gear he's going to wear for this morning's particular repair. Those superheated neutrinos are dangerous in the extreme.

_-Oi! You'd better not get yourself all wadded up in TARDIS guts before you give me a kiss goodbye. It's the price you pay for muffins!-_

_-Your wish is my command, Most Gracious Lady,-_  he sends her with a mocking little salute.

He receives only one image in return—a live action replay of Jackie Tyler's hand on its way to his face. The little memory is complete with sound and sensation. Rubbing his jaw as if he had actually just received said slap, the Doctor continues chuckling to himself as he heads down the hall. Rose Tyler is the best thing that's happened to him in centuries…nah, might as well go all the way…ever. She's the best thing to  _ever_  happen to him.

* * *

Several hours later, it's getting on to late afternoon, and the TARDIS is still and quiet. None of his companions has returned, and he can feel Rose's happy glow through their link. The Doctor is deep in the bowels under the Console and finally at the most delicate part of his repair.

The tranquility of the TARDIS is broken by clanging, a sudden burst of very colourful language, and a quiet knocking at the doors. The Doctor didn't hear the knock over the clang of his favourite spanner hitting the grate and his own swearing.

**_~My Thief, the Spirit Singer has returned.~_ **

"What? Who? Can you cut the flow off here or something? I can't reach my damn spanner with my toe, and if I let go, well you know what happens if I let go, and I don't have time…wait what did you say?"

**_~The Spirit Singer, he requests entry~_ **

_-Doctor? I hope I am not too early. If your offer still stands, may I request entry?-_  Dougie asks politely and telepathically. The Doctor notices the difference in his mental speech that must be caused by the filtering through the torc. The image accompanying the request is little Dougie McPherson with his hand to his throat standing outside the TARDIS, small bag next to him on the pavement.

"Spirit Singer, eh?" the Doctor asks the TARDIS, but his only reply would qualify as a 'blink-blink'. Fine, She can keep Her secrets…cheeky ship.

 _-Hang on a mo,-_  the Doctor sends back to him with a snapshot of his currently precarious position.

 _/Yes, Dear, please let him in. We should make him a room since he's staying,/_  the Doctor thinks Her way. That doesn't seem to pry a comment out of Her either, just a hum and a blinking light to his left changing from blue to yellow, but She does open the doors. Dougie comes in shedding his disguise at the doorway, and immediately sets his bag down, coming up the ramp and around the Console, looking for the Doctor.

"Doctor? May I be of some assistance? You seem in imminent danger of harm."

"Well, there is only room for one, but if you continue around the Console, there is a staircase to the left that leads down and around to the underside of where I'm working. You may be able to worm you hand through and reach my spanner. I can't let go and I can't reach it! That would be most helpful, good chap."

"Are you looking at the spanner now, Doctor?"

"Yeessss," the Doctor replies somewhat dubiously. Then he feels a slight warmth at the back of his mind. Suddenly, the spanner he's looking at lifts from the grating and smoothly glides through the air to hover within easy reach. Taking the spanner from mid-air, he feels the touch recede and it is heavy in his hand.

The Doctor is a bit startled, but after checking his shielding, he sees that Dougie only accessed his visual cortex and then, using what must be his own telekinesis, 'handed' him his spanner.

"My apologies, if that is considered rude among your people. I was afraid that I may be too tall for the structures of your ship," Dougie says sending the Doctor his apologies telepathically as well, in a wave of pale blue.

"Blimey, that's handy! No, no apologies necessary, thank you. Rose is developing some telekinesis as well, but I think she is currently only up to pencil rolling." You can hear the smile and pride in his voice. "My talents do not lie in that area, but apparently yours do; yes, very helpful indeed."

"My pleasure, Doctor. May I know what you are working on? I do not know if I can be of more assistance, but I am very curious about your ship," Dougie says this with obvious sincerity.

The Doctor loves nothing more than showing off his ship and a quiet, apt pupil that has only glowing compliments for Her and his work can keep him talking for hours. And they have hours to enjoy each other. By the time Rose and the rest of the gang return, the TARDIS has expanded her spaces beneath the Console, so that Dougie can stand next to the narrow space the Doctor is working in. His longer arms and fingers prove an invaluable asset for the Doctor with these particularly delicate and flammable repairs.

They spend most of their time speaking about the TARDIS and her inner workings. What little mechanical experience Dougie has, has been learned on Earth in the past 50 years or so. His own culture's mechanicals were complex but vastly different using unbreakable glass and highly refined oils derived from compounds only found near his home. He has a ready mind though and asks good questions.

Finishing up the last of this repair and still chatting with Dougie, the Doctor is having another internal conversation with himself. He's learned a lot about Dougie the man, throughout this experience and he likes him. He sees much of the same bright and shining curiosity in Dougie that lead  _him_  to seek the stars so long ago. This kinship strikes a deep and hungry chord in the Doctor. He hadn't realised how much he longed for the companionship of someone more like himself. He might say he longed for his own people, but he knows that isn't entirely true. He may  _choose_  to fondly remember aspects of his civilisation, but he can't think on them long before the more recent memories of the perversions that took place while fighting a never-ending War slide front and centre—the distinctions between his people and the Daleks had become increasingly difficult to see toward the end.

Of course, he has Rose. She is his hearts and soul. He can talk to her about anything, and know that he will be heard with kindness and understanding, but… She grew up human. There is so much to his psyche that will never make sense to her, because everything she experiences will fundamentally go through her human filter first. It is something about her that he treasures, and it helps more often than not; especially when he needs to see things in a different light. But…

He also has Romana, well in a sense. She has eased much of his loneliness for Gallifrey, but they can only interact so far, and they always irritated each other after a while—that hasn't changed. She hasn't chosen to make herself available in the last few days, so he assumes she's involved with her 'Project'. Her interface with the Matrix is one of the few systems that she can fully control, and she has decided to take it on herself to organise it. She's always loved organising, and according to her it is a 'complete heap of rubbish'. He's glad she has something to keep her busy.

What it all boils down to, is that it isn't the same as having a living, breathing person to talk to that empathises completely with things like growing up telepathic in a telepathic society, living for centuries, losing your people, the madness of war, and the loneliness that comes from thinking your the last.. The Doctor admits to himself that he hopes Dougie will stay for a bit, maybe go on a few adventures with them.

"Dougie, my man, that's the last of it. It's a good thing this doesn't require flushing more than once every 50 years or so. I've been neglecting them because of the risks involved, and I've been a bit busy." The TARDIS flickers her lights at him, and while Dougie doesn't hear the raspberry that She sends the Doctor, he picks up on the sentiment.

"It is I who should be thanking you, Doctor. My mind swims with all I have learned today. She is even more impressive that I could have imagined," he says with enthusiasm, patting the central spine that leads to the rotor. The TARDIS beams at him, winking her lights and humming her appreciation.

The Doctor snorts at her preferential treatment as he's gathering his tools up. He's slipping out of the bright green HazMat coverall as Rose, Donna, and Jack return laden with bags and boxes. Apparently some of the parcels contain food, because the TARDIS is immediately filled with the enticing aromas of…

"Thai food!" the Doctor exclaims. His head pops up from beside the grating near Jack like a whack-a-mole, surprising Jack, who squeals like a girl, to everyone's delight.

"And before you fall all over yourself apologising, I have enough for you too, Dougie," Rose calls out as she's heading toward the kitchen, arms full of bags.

Finally extracting himself from the intricate space they had been occupying, Dougie looks to the Doctor sheepishly, "Your mate is quite considerate."

"Rose is the kindest person you'll meet, and she loves to feed people. Careful though, she might try to fatten you up. She's finally given up on me. I could eat a horse!"

Laughing, Dougie replies, "Indeed, my people metabolise in such a way that fat, would have to be a conscious choice. I do not see the need. I love Thai food. I wonder if they used those little…"

"Aubergines? I love those, too! And my people metabolise the same way. I would wonder if we weren't more closely related if your galaxy wasn't so extraordinarily far away. By the way, do you mind if I run some scans on you before we go? I would like to get a base set and samples of blood before we enter the Vortex."

"Of course, Doctor. What is mine, is yours. I hope we can eat first though," he says with an audible growl from his belly.

With a grin, the Doctor heads up and out of the areas below as Dougie follows him and the delectable smells of dinner coming from the TARDIS kitchen.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you so much for the continued reading and the kudos! :-)


	4. Ghost in the Machine

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> An unwelcome guest is found lurking.

**4 Ghosts in the Machine**

"Donna, here's your Chicken Panang. Jack, your shrimp Red Curry," Rose is calling out as she places the take away containers in front of their owners. The Doctor and Dougie come in and take their places as Rose continues, "Dougie, vegetable Green Curry with extra aubergines and Doctor, your beef Masamum Curry with added aubergines and extra cashews!"

Jack passes cold Thai teas to everyone as Rose takes her own dish of Shrimp Green Curry, and looking over at Dougie with a smile, she seats herself across from him.

"How could you know what I usually order, Rose?" Dougie asks with a startled look on his face. In the brighter lights of the kitchen, Rose can see his Tanu features much better than last night, and he is truly beautiful. She can now see that his deep set eyes are the crisp blue of spring skies, and are gazing at her intently. She can sense confused delight coming from him as well. She can't really give him a good answer.

With shrug and a pleased smile at being right, Rose says, "I don't know, it just seemed like what I should get you. Glad you like it!"

Shaking his head at the coincidence, Dougie wonders what other skills Rose may be developing. Taking his first bite and humming his appreciation, he digs in with everyone else. It is the first time he has felt truly welcome since before he left his home world. Sighing softly to himself between bites, he misses the  _then_ , but is definitely ready to enjoy the  _now_.

Once the food has been devoured and the remains of the meal removed, they trade stories of the day amiably while enjoying tea or coffee. They had really enjoyed exploring the city on their own for a bit before running their errands to the jewellers and tea merchant.

Donna acquired the jewellery she'd been after. Rose's purchased her own favourite piece, a lovely pendant depicting a wolf howling up at an eagle. She had like the local symbolism as explained by the proprietor. The wolf, who mates for life, is the hunter; the eagle, is a powerful symbol of creation, peace, and friendship. The images had seemed well suited to her and the Doctor.

Donna's pieces are decorated with thunderbirds. The shopkeeper told them the Thunderbird's legend. How it was said the flapping of the great Thunderbird's wings make the thunder and the flashing of his eyes in anger at men's cruelty, the lightning.

Jack, on the other hand, had purchased a t-shirt with a man being chased by a bear that said, 'Canadian fast food.' Neither of the girls could figure out why he thought it was so funny, but he'd just had to have it.

From there, they visited a pub Jack had noticed before that offered small local brews. The beer was spectacular, and the burgers they'd had for lunch were just as good. Next stop was several shops near the pub for some random shopping, and then Murchie's for Rose's tea. The owner was so impressed with Rose's knowledge of tea, that he took her out back to his storeroom so they could all see the bales of new tea from India and Africa, as well as barrels from China. The smells were heavenly. Rose brilliantly went about charming the man out of his scone recipe as well, which she held up in the air like a trophy, much to everyone's amusement.

By the time they were finished at Murchie's and visited another couple of shops, where Rose and Donna picked up some necessities, they'd seen the Thai place and stopped to order dinner before returning to the TARDIS.

"So, Rose says you're going to travel with us a bit, Dougie. That will be fun; us boys will outnumber the girls now!" Jack says with a smirk.

The TARDIS takes that moment to flash her lights, which Jack takes as a remonstration that the male to female ratio is now equal, thank you. In reality, She is warning the Doctor and Rose that Romana is looking for them.

 ** _~The Brave one needs you~_**  is all She gets to communicate before Romana pops into existence at the end of the table, dressed in a deep green robe trimmed in russet, her hair in braids and piled on her head.

"Doctor, really! How can you and Rose be so hard to find, I looked…Oh, hello," she says as she notices the new faces. "I'm Romanadvoratrelundar. You may call me Romana," she announces, bowing slightly to the newcomers.

Donna puts up a hand hesitantly and waves. The look on her face says exactly how much seeing this woman magically appear had surprised her. "Donna Noble, you can call me Donna." Romana graciously accepts her name with a nod of her head and a small smile. "Is this normal?" Donna leans over and quietly asks Jack. Jack's eyes twinkle in laughter as he nods in the affirmative.

Dougie stands away from the table and executes a deep formal bow similar to those of the previous evening, "I am Dougron of Duat yth Earth, Exalted Lady. Please except the humble gift of my meagre name in exchange for yours." Returning to his full height, he grins at Romana's surprise.

"Goodness Doctor, the mischief you get up to when I am busy for a few days. Two new companions, and one of them a Tanu relic? You must have quite the story, Master Dougon. I would love to hear it, should you be staying with us," Romana says with a raised eyebrow and a grin of her own. Needling the Doctor is a favourite pastime of hers.

Rolling his eyes at her, the Doctor stands and comes to her side. Turning to Donna and Dougie, he explains, "Donna, Dougie, I will give you the penny version that Romana herself can elaborate on later. Romana was a very dear friend of mine and also Lady President of Gallifrey. Wherever Gallifrey is—alive or dead—Romana is there, too. This is an engram, a copy of her essence at the time—irritating personality and all. She left it with me and the TARDIS…when we left Gallifrey. She can interact with us as if she were living here among us, but she is in actuality a highly complex hologram with lots of attitude. A brilliant mathematician, scientist, and easily the best elected President Gallifrey managed since I refused the job—twice."

Romana snorts at the Doctor's dramatics, but is wearing a pleased smile at the oddly phrased compliment. He hadn't technically lied about anything, but he hadn't told all of the truth either—typical.

"Dougie, is it? Well, it is lovely to meet you and you as well, Donna. Yes, Jack, I see you, too. Hello," she says, rolling her eyes at his wave and cheesy wink. The encounters between Jack and Romana in the past few weeks had been a source of amusement for the Doctor and Rose. Jack knew Romana was only an avatar, but that didn't stop him from flirting with her, like he could actually get anywhere. Romana's reactions ranged from cool disdain, at the beginning, to out right hilarity when he was particularly cheeky.

"I apologise for breaking up your party, but I need to speak with the Doctor and Rose; would you excuse us? I'll be in the Gallifrey Room." And 'pop,' she's gone. Romana's request only surprises Donna, who opens her mouth to tell this strange, not-really-there woman what she can do with her high and mighty…when Jack grabs her hand under the table, lacing his fingers through hers just as Romana disappears. The startled squeak she lets out gives Jack a moment to suggest that if Dougie is up to retelling his tale to he and Donna, they would love to hear about the Tanu.

Dougie agrees readily, pleased that he has something to offer them. He hasn't had any time to experience the tempestuous Donna or her handsome fellow Jack, beyond the previous day's exertions on the dance floor, that is. Leading the way, he heads toward the library, followed by Jack and a Donna, who is trying to decide if Jack seriously just grabbed her hand (like romantically) or if she's being managed. If it's the latter, she has several choice things to say to him later that he will  ** _not_**  enjoy. However, the thought of the former gives her butterflies and brings pink to her cheeks. Glad that he's in front and can't see her face, Donna follows meekly—for now.

* * *

Back in the kitchen, Rose gets up from the table and walks to the Doctor's side. "So is rude a natural Time Lord trait? I might need to practise," she teases him.

"Pfft! Please don't," he says, wrapping her in his arms and leaning in for a kiss.

"What do you think Romana needs? Did you see the look on Donna's face when she popped in—hysterical! We should have warned her." Taking the Doctor's hand, they head in the direction of the Gallifrey room.

"I should think she has something to ask us about the Matrix. Otherwise, I have no idea. Maybe the inhabitants are being unruly. That should keep her busy," he says with an uncharitable grin.

"Are you sure you two aren't siblings? You get on each other's nerves like you are."

"No, we're from completely different Houses, even though we're part of the same Chapter. She just irritates me. She's so…. so bossy!" he growls, running a hand through his already unruly hair. The HazMat suit had smashed it flat and he still felt all itchy from wearing it for hours. The Doctor was looking forward to patting Romana on the head for whatever milestone she reached and then escaping to the shower.

Rose can feel that he's not looking forward to the meeting with Romana, but she's very interested. Rose and Romana have spent hours talking and they both enjoy each other greatly. Rose has chosen not to enlighten the Doctor on just how much of their conversations circle around him. The choice tidbits she's learned are for her ears only. Grinning to herself, she opens the door and leads the way into the room.

Neither of them had actually been paying attention to where they were going, just following the TARDIS' promptings. Upon entering the room, they are startled to see it is a completely new one. They are in an antechamber, like an airlock made of some clear material. Through it they can see a truly enormous space that is filled with stacks of golden crystals that reach up so high, it gets misty before she can see the roof of the room—the Matrix. In the chamber they've walked into, is a row of oddly shaped headgear hanging next to the door.

"Oh! It's finished. The TARDIS was working on the space for the Matrix, but I didn't realise it was done. Also didn't realise Romana asking us to meet her in the Gallifrey room was a joke….I see. Well, Rose Tyler, would you like to experience Time Lord culture through the memories of those who lived it?" he asks with a grin, but some tension around his eyes.

"Maybe…how does that work? I know Romana is special, but how do  _we_  access them? Is it like a computer?" Rose is in awe of the structure, and unsure how to proceed. Her gifted knowledge tells her this is nothing weird, but it is special and unique to the time and place of its origin. If she were to look… _really_  look at the Matrix, as a Time Lord, she would understand its structure more completely.

"Oh," she whispers, as she opens herself up to view the Matrix completely, in all its previously hidden glory. She can now see how the columns of stacked crystals are all connected and exist in several dimensions at once, making them typically invisible. That explains how they can contain so much information as well as personality imprints.

"It is impressive. I had been down here to see the raw crystals, but the TARDIS reproduced something very similar to the room and method of access on Gallifrey. In the centre of that room will be a smaller column that will rise when we enter. We'll be wearing one of these," he says, handing her one of the headpieces. Watching how he fixes it to his own head, she does the same. "Wearing the coronets will give us access to the Matrix—in our minds. The coronet is the interface. We will be able to speak, interact, and touch the individuals we wish to access. Just like your conversation with Romana in the Pools when you were in my mind before."

Seeing a dubious look cross Rose's features, he hugs her to him a moment. "No one can hurt you in here, Rose. They are only in your mind. They are less even than Romana. They can't do anything to you that you do not allow. Remember that." The Doctor hopes that Romana has a good grip on things so what he just told Rose will actually stay the truth.

Rose nods her understanding, and pushes her doubts aside. The Matrix is like an interactive encyclopaedia. Learn what you want and get out. She can do this.

Taking her hand, the Doctor leads them into the main Matrix room. It is much cooler than she would have thought and Rose gasps at the temperature change. Her body adjusts and she is comfortable again in a moment. As they walk across the open space, a column of solid gold crystal slides up. It is faceted around the top in planes that are just palm sized. Placing his hand against one of the facets, the Doctor turns to Rose.

"Okay, place your hand like mine and think about Romana. We'll meet up with her. Ready?" At Rose's nod of agreement, he grins like a fool and says, "Allons-y!"

* * *

"Took you long enough, did you lose your way?" Romana says, pouring them tea, and smiling smugly. The Doctor and Rose find themselves in a large well appointed stateroom of some sort at a table set with tea and Romana and the Doctor's mother.

"Lady Professor, Romana, this is amazing!" Rose enthuses. She immediately jumps to her feet and goes around the table, first to the Lady Professor to grasp the taller woman in the hug that Rose has longed to give her since their meeting in her garden before the Bonding. Standing, the Lady Professor is bemused and indulgent of her son's wife. She very much likes Rose, and it is with true delight that she returns the greeting.

The Doctor and Romana both stand as well, and as Rose moves to embrace Romana, the Doctor moves to stand in front of his mother.

"Mother, I hope you are well," he says somewhat awkwardly. She can see he is holding himself still with iron determination, but his energy reaches for her. She senses how he and Rose are bound around each other, and how Rose has been working on his mind—healing him. His thoughts, though, are a whirling maelstrom of questions, doubts, paths to take, and too many possibilities for any one person to try and make sense of. With a small sad smile, she takes the step toward her son, and enfolds him in her arms.

He stiffens initially, but then relaxes into her embrace with a sigh. He doesn't cling to her, but they share whole volumes of silent loss and understanding in the few moments of the embrace. He had never thought to see her again, let alone have actual access to her through the Matrix. There are so many things he needs and wants to talk to her about— the Moment, does she know what actually happened, what was she working on at the time? These questions and more tumble around in his mind like so many leaves in the wind.

 _/My son, we will speak. We have time. I can feel your desire, but the chaos of your thoughts does not help,/_  she tells him privately and calmly.

The delicate remonstration gives him instant clarity, and his thoughts still, remembering lessons he had struggled through as a child, but learned to master. He organises his thoughts, grateful for the reminder.

 _/Thank you, Mother, my apologies,/_ he replies with a wry grin. With a simple smile, she touches his cheek fondly and he feels her mental caress of love as she turns her attentions to Rose.

Rose returned to her seat after giving Romana a heartsfelt hug. They've spoken on several occasions, but enjoyed the embrace all the same. As everyone else arranges themselves around the table, the Lady Professor takes Rose's hand.

"Rosemariontyler, bonding to my son seems to be suiting you—both of you. I hope he is behaving himself," she says, holding Rose's hand and glancing regally over at her son before a grin replaces her stern look at the expression of consternation that crosses his.

Seeing the teasing exchange, Rose grins as well. "He's been a very good boy lately. No explosions, and the only recent running we've done has been from dinosaurs or an irritated flag man on a roof. But please, just call me Rose. I'm not used to the sound of my name all smashed together, like a proper Gallifreyan," she replies.

"As you wish, Rose, and you may call me Penelope." The Doctor's mother says this and takes a sip from her cup of tea with great amusement at the stunned looks on both Romana and her son's faces.

Rose looks at all three of them without understanding. "What? Penelope doesn't mean anything weird in Gallifreyan that I don't know does it?" Rose asks, her confusion evident.

"No, dear, they have just never heard me use the name before. It is not my true name, the one I received at the Schism, but it is the name I took when the Doctor's father and I lived on Earth for a while, before he was born. His father's name was Ulysses; it amused him to call himself after the young Greek adventurer. I called myself after Odysseus's wife, because I would always wait for him. Those were beautiful days." She finishes with a wistful expression and the knowledge of Time deep in her eyes.

"I heard my father call you that once as a child," the Doctor says, remembering. "He was handing you a flower, and I thought that was the name of the flower for years. Ushas informed me of my error at the Academy, but I had forgotten why I thought it was a flower until now," he says, smiling at his mother.

Romana is still surprised by the revelations. They are very personal, and she feels awkward having been present for them. "I hope you do not think it rude if I do not call you Penelope. I don't think I could at this point; you've been the Lady Professor my whole life," Romana says with an apologetic expression.

"It's alright, dear. I've called you Romana since you were a child, so it is only fair. This visit is not just about personal matters though." Addressing the Doctor and Rose, she continues, "We have some very important information we need to share." Romana blinks a moment at the swift change in topic, but she shouldn't be surprised. The Lady Professor was always good at keeping meetings on topic.

"Indeed. If you would follow me, please." Standing, the chairs and table now gone, they follow Romana from the next room. As they walk, Rose sees the walls and spaces around them change and shift into the new room, which is packed with computer consoles, banks of blinking lights, and numerous buttons and toggles. Pulling up a screen, Romana begins to explain where they are and what they are seeing.

"As I am sure you will recognise, Doctor, this is a copy of the APCNet room above the Matrix on Gallifrey. Unlike the original Amplified Panatropic Computer Net, I am not trying to guess the future—only organising the past. As you know, I have been working on the Matrix, reordering it and attempting to categorise the interface. I have had some success. You came directly where I intended you to, just now, but accessing certain parts of our history could send you…elsewhere."

"But how is that possible? That is the whole point of the coronets, to send you directly where you need to go at a thought." The Doctor has had some experience with Matrix and is bothered at the notion of becoming lost within it…again.

"Exactly my point. Originally, I thought perhaps it was the translation to a different sort of crystal, since we transferred all the information from the Gallifreyan Matrix crystals to the TARDIS' own stack crystal matrices. Working with your TARDIS, though, I found that that was not the case. She transferred everything we asked exactly; it is only the crystal's shape that is different. The alignments and connection points are all the same. She is very proud of Her work." Romana gives them a smile over her shoulder, but turns quickly back to what she is bringing up on the screen. As the viewer clears, they see trillions of coloured lines that weave in and around each other, making up a fractal of information.

"This is the view of the Matrix from the outside," she begins. "Everything appears orderly, but as you scan deeper…" Now the image dives within the threads and Rose can see that some of the connections are wrong, and there are knots of code that don't connect to anything at all.

The Doctor comes up to Romana's side in front of the screen. Rose can tell he is deep in thought by the 'thinking Doctor pose'—right hand deep in his pocket and left rubbing first the back of his head, then his chin, and finally tugging his ear. The ear tug means this is really serious. Worried now, Rose stays next to Penelope, listening and gathering information.

"Stop. Can you focus on that?" he asks, pointing at one of the free knots of coded information.

"Yes, and you're not going to like it," Romana replies with a grim nod as she focuses the computer on the knot.

Once it is selected, the screen streams lines and lines of mathematical code, presumably giving out the specs of the knot. Rose reads the lines as they go by, but they don't make any sense to her. They are all pieces and parts of what must be a greater whole.

"Are there more of these?" At Romana's nod, he says, "Let's go to another." Romana pulls back a bit and then reaches out to touch the next knot. It is the same thing. Rose can feel the Doctor become more and more agitated as they move to other knots and see a repeat of the previous. The code is always different, but none of them are whole. It is like trying to rewrite a book from a pile of sentences and fragments of paragraphs.

Rose looks over to the Lady Professor who is watching her son. Turning to Rose, she raises an eyebrow and looks to be about to make a comment, when the Doctor finally bursts.

"That's impossible! Go back to the first one," he demands. His hair is all kinds of sticky-up now, and his eyes are wild.

"I cannot," Romana replies calmly. This style of outburst isn't new to her, and the best way to deal with the Doctor's brilliance is to let it happen. Only adding a comment when absolutely necessary, like now… "The knots move. As soon as you've studied one, it changes places. I have only been able to locate a knot and catch it again once before in a previous session."

"What? But that's…grrrrrr…. Obviously it's not impossible if they're bloody well doing it! They are independent fragments of code, how could they be moving about?  _What_  is moving them?"

"I don't know, Doctor. We did our best to remove any…hostile entities from the Matrix before we copied it to your TARDIS. I scanned extensively for hidden partitions and anything else that looked like it could have originated from outside the Matrix," Romana tells him. He glances at her, before pacing again.

"What if it isn't a  _what_ , but a  _who?_ " Rose says, staring thoughtfully at the screen. Walking forward, she begins moving around in the Matrix readout, and opening a series of small windows each containing a knot. Romana watches this eyes narrowed in concentration. She hadn't thought of doing that, opening a series of knots to study at once—brilliant!

The Doctor is watching the screens and the knots as they accumulate under Rose's activities. When she has about a dozen of them, she clears the screen of anything else and brings the knots together in one screen. She is so engrossed in her work that she hasn't noticed the expressions of surprise as everyone else gathers around her.

"The Matrix isn't…sentient…right? But it is filled with the remnants of sentience. The bioscans and memories of once living people. What if one of them wanted to hide?" Rose speaks quietly, almost to herself as she begins overlaying the knots over each other. "There! These five align and these three…"

As the matching knots align in sequence, a pattern of the original energy is visible in the two places that Rose found cohesion. They have several long moments to watch the data stream, before abruptly, it all vanishes.

"No!" Rose exclaims. The cursing to her left alerts her to the Doctor's feelings on the failure.

"I saw enough," Romana states quietly.

They turn to her, and her expression has turned to stone, her eyes glittering in repressed rage and determination. "It is Pandora… ** _again_**! You can have no idea, how many times in the past, on Gallifrey, I struggled against her presence."

"Pandora? But I thought you took care of her years ago. I missed the entire thing, still sorry about that by the way, but how could her ghost  _still_  be in there? Especially after all the precautions you took?" the Doctor asks, looking thoughtful.

"I have no idea, Doctor. We tricked her into a separate partition in the original Matrix and destroyed it entirely," Romana states flatly.

"I had the clean template in preparation for the destruction. I wrote a great many filtering algorithms to remove any of her bio-data from the Matrix. I used the same filters with improvements again to remove Rassilon later, just before we translated the Matrix to your TARDIS. I apologise, my son, but I actually stole a tiny portion of your TARDIS' coral to amplify the filtering and transferral." Penelope says with a rueful smile.

"Really?! I guess beneficial theft runs in the family," he says, surprised. "She must have been willing, so I can't get angry about it, and I guess it make sense when you were moving from one type of crystal to another, but…"

"I'm sorry, but can I ask please, who is Pandora?" Rose interrupts, her brow furrowed. "I know that she was Gallifrey's first Lady President, and a complete nutter, calling herself Imperatrix, causing civil unrest, trying to conquer as much as possible—killing thousands, and generally being an enormous pain in the arse. Until she was caught, and punished by dispersal. But how was she an issue thousands of years later after being atomised? I'm confused."

"Well, Rose, first off, dispersal and atomising are completely different…" The Doctor has only begun his explanation when he's interrupted by Romana.

Doctor, please?" With a pained sigh, Romana explains. "Where to start? I lived with these sorts of disruptive Time occurrences my entire life, but I wasn't prepared to have been engineered to be one; who would be? Before dispersal, which involves scattering through time  _and_  space, Pandora had managed to hide enough of herself within the Matrix to maintain a type of consciousness. Over thousands of years she was able to rebuild herself, if you will, within a partition she'd constructed. Then she began a manipulative breeding program to create the perfect vessel for herself—me."

"But how could she manipulate anyone from within the Matrix?" Rose asks, thinking about what the Doctor had told her about interacting in here. He may not have been completely honest with her.

"On Gallifrey, we used the Matrix to answer all kinds of questions. With billions of Time Lord consciousnesses it becomes easier to see patterns in all kinds of things. It is the ultimate statistical database for every form of demographic—we could predict the future with it to a certain extant, just by gauging where the patterns were leading. She was able to influence those that came with questions, planting suggestions, and offering solutions. It took her a really long time, but she was successful, and I was loomed.

"Of course, I had no idea at the time, but she also manipulated events so that I would be elected President. I'd heard her for years. Whispering to me anytime I entered the Matrix, but it never occurred to me that I was being lead. It was a sordid affair, but to make a long confusing story shorter, she managed to posses a couple of key individuals and we fought a short but brutal Civil War on Gallifrey to free us from her influence. Doctor, your brother was instrumental, though not entirely as helpful as I would have liked," Romana says, looking to the Doctor with an eyebrow arched.

"That sounds exactly like the Braxiatel I remember," the Doctor replies with sarcasm.

"Yes, well I hate to say it, but even when I knew how dangerous she was, I still asked for advice periodically," Romana states, walking back toward the screen showing the lines of the Matrix flowing past. "We knew a great conflict was coming, and I had a feeling that this brewing civil war between factions for and against Pandora, was merely a distraction. I had no idea how right I was," she says, sighing heavily.

"We managed to stop her by tricking her back into the Matrix and destroying it entirely. That is why I am so surprised and dismayed that she could have survived  _that_  as well as now being transferred here."

"I have a theory on how she remained," Rose says thoughtfully. "I noticed earlier that not all the knots of code are free floating. Some of them are still attached to the lines of sentience, disrupting them. I think she bonded portions of herself to the strands of other Time Lord's consciousnesses in an attempt to blend in. Much like a virus adapting itself to fit the receptive sites of other cells. We may have caught her before her extraordinary will is actually completely sentient. If we amend your Rassilon algorithms, we may be able to pick her out of the Matrix, like so many balls of lint."

"We may have tipped our hand though," the Lady Professor says grimly. "Bringing that many pieces together may have been enough to alert the greater whole that she's been discovered. Romana is the only part of the Matrix that is currently safe. She was kept separate all this time, and only recently was given a partition. And she is familiar with how Pandora did this last time. From this point on, do not enter the Matrix unless Romana herself comes to get you. She's the only one who has access outside the Matrix."

"Also, I will only manifest to you as my third incarnation from this point on." And suddenly before them is the Romana that Rose met in the Pools. She is taller, older, and much better at looking stern, which she certainly does now. "Pandora has never seen this me, and she may not know it."

"That means we will have to strengthen the TARDIS' defences of those partitions as well. We can't allow any portion of Pandora to reach the TARDIS' Data Core or Romana's partition," the Doctor says thoughtfully.

Turning to his wife, he says, "Rose, you are brilliance covered in awesome. I have no idea how you saw the patterns, but thank you. You may have given us the advantage." She blushes lightly at the praise and takes his hand.

"All in a day's work," she replies with a smile.

"Yes, thank you, Rose. We specifically purged any portion of Rassilon's bioscan that we could find, but it hadn't occurred to me to look again for Pandora, or that she would have gone to such lengths to hide herself," Romana chides herself.

"Well, we shouldn't be too surprised. Considering the efforts she went to before. I would also include Rassilon in the algorithms though…just in case. As much of a crazy megalomaniac bastard as he was, he was also utterly stark raving brilliant, and a pompous arse. He may have tried something similar," the Doctor states with a grim smile.

Turning to his mother, the Doctor says, "Mother, a pleasure. I hope we can do this again in the future, hopefully without ever mentioning Rassilon's name!" With a matching grin, Penelope gives her son a quick hug before moving to give Rose one as well.

"Alright, let's get you out of here so I can keep working on this. Remember, don't come back if I don't come get you. We'll fix this, and let you know when it's safe. One good thing about being a hologram, I don't get tired and I don't need stimulants to keep working. Imagine everything I could have gotten done on Gallifrey if I didn't have to sleep at all!" Romana says with a cheeky grin that immediately drops years from her face.

With a clap of her hands, the Doctor and Rose find themselves back in the Matrix room. Removing their hands from the column, they turn and head out to the antechamber as the small column recesses back into the floor.

"Doctor, when you said it was safe in there, and we couldn't get hurt…?" Rose begins as she removes her coronet.

"Ummm….yes that, well, it should be true. While I knew there could always be a possibility with the past Matrix on Gallifrey, I was sort of hoping this one would be different enough to not have the same problems. When we're done, that…should…be true. I hope." He finishes his explanation, turning his back to her to go to the rack of other coronets. His shoulders are hunched like he's expecting a smack.

"Right. Well, I'm glad we caught the problem early." Rose is still a bit annoyed and he can feel it through their link, but she's willing to drop it for now, and for that, the Doctor is grateful. Reaching the wall, another question occurs to him.

"Rose, how did you see the patterns?" the Doctor asks as he hangs their coronets back up.

"I kept watching as you were both moving from knot to knot and I started to feel the patterns like strains of music in a song. When I let my focus go, I could almost feel where the next part would be," she explains as they head out of the room and down the hall.

"Music again, interesting. Music is often used to describe the ways the Universe interacts with its pieces and parts. I never looked at it through the interface of music, but it keeps coming back to that. Almost like all the Bad Wolf references we kept running across." He squeezes her hand at the memory and they share a smile before he continues. "Which reminds me, we need to practise the Spherical Gallifreyan that you utilised with Jack. Both Bad Wolf and the Sphynx mentioned its importance, and its potential for us."

"And I need to start catching up on some of your memories, so I can stop being surprised when you know something that we haven't had the time to talk about yet!" Rose teases, but she's serious. She'd been meaning to talk to him about the Spherical Gallifreyan and all of that, but they hadn't had the chance.

"I know we talked about it the other night, but I think you should start at the end and work your way back. I really want to know what you think about…some of the things I was shown…when we were still in my head," he says thoughtfully, thinking back on all the impressions, images, and his own thoughts on the subjects mentioned.

"Okay. It would be easier if I didn't have to live through them. That's what's really slowed me down. Experiencing the entire memory on fast forward but with all the emotions intact is…taxing. By the way, you shouldn't spend so much energy suppressing your emotions. I know that's what you were taught, but that was a really long time ago, and it would be healthier if you didn't. Trust me, your head was filled with muck, and a lot of it was emotional damage."

"Hmmm…." Changing directions, he starts heading off in a different direction, pulling Rose along; very last Doctor-like.

"Oi! Where we going? The others are waiting. What…our bedroom? Well, talk of megalomaniacs, tragic memories, and brain muck make you randy, does it?" she teases him with her tongue-in-tooth grin.

"What?! Randy? Rose Tyler, you are insatiable. Truthfully, there aren't too many things more likely to turn me off faster than anything that bares a resemblance to Rassilon, thank you!" he says to Rose, wide-eyed at having any thoughts of his gorgeous wife naked, clash with those of Rassilon…ewww.

"No, I just want to show you a couple of memory tricks before we catch up with the others. I need to explain to Dougie about his people, which involves sharing more about my people than I have since the War, and I would like you to at least be up-to-date on everything that has happened recently. I value your insight," he tells her as he pushes through the door and into their room. Anticipating their needs, Darling has provided tea by the fire.

 _/Would you please remove the door to the Matrix room? Romana wants it inaccessible to anyone until she can purge the system of Pandor's bits and pieces,/_  he asks the TARDIS before seating himself next to Rose.

**_~Of course, my Thief. She and I are already working on the solutions~_ **

_/Excellent, be meticulous. I have no idea what she was planning, but I want it stopped./_

The TARDIS understands and sends him a soothing wave of affection at his overprotective thoughts.

"Right! So, have you only been accessing my memories through the Foyer and the doors?" he asks Rose once he seats himself.

"Um…yessss? That is the only way I know how to access any of your memories. Mine pop up when I think about whatever I need, just like normal. Is there a better way?" Rose prepares their tea and hands him a cup. She would really like a simpler, kinder, gentler method when going through his expansive load of remembered experiences.

"Absolutely! I'm sorry I didn't show you before. You'll still have to access them specifically, but you can bypass your Foyer and the doors. Instead of thinking of a particular memory, think of a block of time, and you can watch it almost like the telly. Then if you want the deeper, full emersion experience, you can access it there for a moment, instead of the entire experience; awful smells, errant breezes, and all!" Flashing her his high wattage grin, he sips his tea.

"Wow! That  _is_  easier. Okay, so do you want to do this with me, like the Gamestation, or do you want me to practise what you just mentioned?" Setting her tea aside, Rose makes herself more comfortable.

"Try out the new way. I want your impressions, and I don't want to colour them with my own thoughts. Why don't you start with just before we landed on Chelsea 426 and go forward to our Bonding ceremony. It isn't all daisies and butterflies, I'm afraid. Remember, you can view it as fast or as slow, as surface or as in depth as you like. It is just a memory; you aren't there, and nothing can hurt you. I'll be right here, and if you touch me, I'll be in there with you." He gives her an encouraging smile, though most of what he just imparted does not sound like fun.

"Life of the party, you are," she says to him, rolling her eyes. Taking a fortifying swallow of tea, Rose closes her eyes, and tries out the new technique.

It is even easier than she thought it would be, and in a moment, she is seeing her Doctor come into the library where she is reading and he teases her about the paper. She tries reaching more deeply into the memory to experience how he is feeling when asking her on a proper date. Slowing the scene down to real time, she is suddenly seeing through his eyes, and hearing his thoughts as he thinks about how lovely she is. How amazing it is that she enjoys what she's reading. The pride in the depth of her understanding and her quick mind. How desperately he wants to kiss her, and just haul her off to bed.

Blushing to the roots of her hair, she slides back from the full impact experience and returns to the streaming television version.

The Doctor sees her blush and can feel her reaction through their link. He's pretty sure where she started off, so he indulges in those memories on his own for a moment. Blinking out of them as he was on his way to pick a tux, he sits back and watches Rose. Sipping his tea, he decides to do the same with her memories of the time. He had glanced through them previously, but only very lightly. He hadn't taken the time to actually review them properly since.

Starting at the point where they reach the restaurant, the Doctor watches Chelsea 426 through the events that finally lead to his being found again, and then through to their Bonding. He is grateful to end on a high note. Reviewing the events around the Sontarran's destruction is enlightening, and terrifying as well. Rose had been so strong, even when confused and frightened by the decisions forced on her. The tinkering that Bad Wolf had done is also enlightening. The Doctor wonders if he can get Rose to consent to a brain scan when he does Dougie's. He should run one on himself, too. There's been an awful lot of mucking about in his grey matter, and the last time that happened, he woke up with Temporal Pools and an unknown guest hanging about in his head for years. Yeah, a scan would be good.

Coming out of his own musings at the sound of Rose's sigh, the Doctor sets his cup aside and sits up in case she needs him. The expression on her face, though, tells him that she is nearing the end and is remembering the Bonding ceremony. It had been pretty spectacular. Going from miserably alone to happily married (to another Time Lord no less) in a few short months is noteworthy, even in his experience.

As Rose blinks back to her reality, she smiles upon seeing her Doctor waiting anxiously for her. "I'm good. That was a lot. I assume you really wanted me to see what Bad Wolf/Moment showed you, while I was unconscious in your head?" At his nod, she continues, "Yeah, thought so. I need to think about all of it; it was an awful lot to happen and then sort of not happen, you know?" At another nod from the Doctor, she reaches for her tea. Taking a sip and setting the now shaking cup aside, she breaks down—not as emotionally strong as she thought she could be.

"Doctor, I'm so sorry. We tried so hard to reach you, and you couldn't know we were!" She'd tried to hold the tears back, but they couldn't be stopped. Moving instantly to her side, he picks her up and wrapping her tightly in his embrace, the Doctor rocks her back and forth, whispering to her softly.

Pressing their heads together, he surrounds her with his feelings, boldly and baldly showing her how he managed to survive in the past—by shoving his feelings to the back of his mind and never thinking about them again. He shows her how she makes him a better person, forcing him to consider others and even himself. He shows her his dreams and hopes for their life in the future—nothing glimpsed in the timelines, just wishes. He actually gets a watery giggle from her when he shows her herself surrounded by a crowd of little boys all dressed and looking like him, bouncing around and sing-songing 'Mummy, mummy!'

"A-ha…I'm pretty sure the Universe would explode if there were that many baby Doctors on the loose." Sniffing, she looks up at him through the curtain of her hair. "Do you think we can…have a family?"

Digging a slightly wrinkled but clean handkerchief from his pocket and handing it to her, he pauses thinking. "I don't see why not; we're compatible. The scans I took when you returned prove that, but Gallifreyans don't conceive as easily as humans. I believe we can…that is if you'd like one, a family that is."

"Well, with you, wouldn't be so bad, eh?" she asks, smiling for real this time, and her love for him completely open for him to see and feel.

"Everything's better with you, Rose Tyler." Sliding his hand up her back to cradle her head, he proves this sentiment with a snog that lasts long enough that both their respiratory bypasses are screaming for air.

"Mmmm, that's nice, but I think we're probably expected at the Library. It's been…."

"Four hours, 32 minutes, and 16 seconds since Romana popped out of the kitchen," the Doctor finishes for her.

"Well then, they're probably ready for a snack. Fancy helping me out in the kitchen, Doctor?" Standing and moving towards the door, she takes a moment to run her fingers through her hair, and take another swipe at her face with the handkerchief.

"What I fancy is helping you out of those clothes, Rose Tyler," he says with a suggestive leer and reaches for her.

"Later, you knob! We've got plenty of time for family making. Guests, remember?" She dances away from him and giggles as she heads toward the door.

"Guests? Those people are family, they'll understand!" Jumping onto the bed, he makes a show of sprawling across it reaching for Rose with a most pitiful 'please don't leave me all the way over here' expression. "Rooo—oose?"

"Dooooc—toor… no! Come on we…!" Rose squeaks in surprise. The instant she had turned her back on him and reached out to touch the door, he was across the room and on her. Pressing her firmly into the door with his body, his hands on either side of her head, he leans in to her ear and whispers to her exactly what he would really like to accomplish…right…now.

"You're not used to being told no, are you Doctor?" Rose says breathlessly, and he knows he's won. He can smell how aroused she is.

"No, I'm not, and I don't think I'll start now."

It is another 46 minutes before they enter the Library, freshly showered, and laden with trays of tea and nibbles.

Seeing Rose's damp hair, Jack quirks a brow in her direction. At the answering smirk, he sighs inwardly and happily to himself. Whatever Romana needed, it wasn't so disastrous as to stop those two from having a shag on the way back. Turning his attention back to Donna and Dougie, he laughs as Donna finishes up telling them about her first adventure with the Doctor. Standing, he helps set the tea and snacks out for everyone to enjoy. The timing had been perfect.


	5. Quantum of Solace

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Doctor reveals more about the Time War, and Dougie learns about his people.

**Quantum of Solace**

Over snacks and tea, the group continues laughing at the antics that the Doctor, Donna, and Rose had gotten into on Donna's supposed wedding day this Christmas past. It was nice really, to laugh about it now. At the time, of course, it was horrifying how quickly everything could go pear shaped. One moment you're walking down the aisle, and the next you're in outer space. One moment you're riding down the motorway in a taxi, the next you're trapped by a diabolical Santa and being chased by a bigger on the inside Police Box containing not one, but apparently two completely insane aliens. Donna is certain there will be more interesting days to come, but that was by far the most hectic and exciting day of her life.

Taking a moment to reflect isn't really Donna's style, but watching Rose and the Doctor fill in parts of the story for Jack and Dougie is…too perfect. Realising she is truly enjoying herself is a bit of a revelation for her. Looking back at her life, she had previously always felt like she was disappointing everyone—well, everyone but Gramps. He was always there for her, encouraging, never talking down to her. He was the one who found that temp listing for her. It wasn't his fault that Lance turned out to be a total pillock.

Feeling her epiphany reach a new height, Donna realises she feels like she belongs. They think of her as part of the team. These amazing people—these aliens—came back for her. She suddenly feels like all of the pieces of her life are slotting together to reach this time, this place, and she—Donna Noble is  _meant_  to be there. The sudden sensation of belonging makes her either want to cry or grin like a loon and dance around the room. Contenting herself with the grin, she sighs, snuggling more deeply into her chair and watching her new family as Jack launches into a wildly inappropriate story about almost getting executed and ending up in bed with both of his executioners, though with no idea how.

"Oh Jack, I have not laughed so hard in a very long time," Dougie says as he wipes tears from his eyes. "How you get into these situations, my friend, I do not know, but I am glad you get out of them. Otherwise, who would tell such lovely stories?" Looking around the room, Dougie is pleased with his new friends. It is nice to be amongst people he doesn't have to hide from.

"Doctor, I apologise for dampening the mood, but if you are amenable, may I learn of my people? I have waited a century I didn't know I'd have to learn of their fate." Dougie had known from the Doctor's initial astonishment at his existence that there would be a reason for it, and those reasons presented too many options.

Clearing his throat, the Doctor says, "Of course, but I am afraid my tale for you is not an entirely happy one, and I am sorry for that." Dougie nods his understanding.

Jack and Donna stand, assuming they'll be asked to leave, but Dougie stops them. "Please, my friends, don't leave. I…I would like you to stay. We share these tales with family, both the good and the bad. We have just met, and forgive my presumption, but you are the closest to family that I have had in years unnumbered. I would be honoured if you shared the story of my people with me. The more who know of them, the longer they live in our memory."

Jack drops back into his chair with a small bow and a nod. Donna walks directly to Dougie. "Stand up, you bloody great lump," she demands of him. Wrapping her arms tightly around him, she is reminded of her own thoughts from moments before and gladly accepts his invitation. Dougie returns the embrace, silently grateful for such bold acceptance.

"Donna Noble, you are indeed a treasure. I am blessed with your friendship."

"Well, don't get all formal about it," she's says, swatting him lightly and blushing. "You looked so lost, and I understand that, so there ya go. Family, ta!" Going back to her chair she, curls up and waits for the story to begin.

The Doctor takes a moment to collect his thoughts before beginning. Rose leans into him comfortingly and lightly brushes him with her mind, just to remind him he isn't really alone in this.

"Right. So let's start locally, and by locally, I am speaking in terms of this planet," he says with a smile. "The remnant of your people that remained here have become native over 6 million years and evolved into multi-dimensional creatures called the Sidhe," the Doctor explains, nodding at Rose's gasp. "They exist apart from the humans and very rarely interact, but have occasionally in the past. Their reality is out of phase with the humans and they like it that way. That is probably how the tales of your people remain to this day, though altered in the retelling across so much time. You wouldn't recognise them or they you. I've only had dealings with them once. They prefer to be left alone and seem to be happy here on Earth.

"As for Duat… Well, your people there evolved as well, though not as far as your kindred here. The time it took for your two races to become one species again slowed you down somewhat, but they are all Lené now. A gracious, caring race content to help others. Once technology had advanced to the point where other races reached their galaxy and they were capable of less damaging travel, they were known as healers across many galaxies. The Lené were often sought out for their psychic and mental healing abilities.

"Evolving to the point where the torcs were no longer needed, your race almost entirely focused on healing as the dominant metafunction. Being one of the oldest races, the Lené were uniquely suited to assist as other races developed metapsychic talents. Unlike my own people, the Lené  _wanted_  to help lesser species. They didn't force development, but gently taught humans and others how to control and coax the telepathic potentials within their own races. In the centuries to come, your people proved themselves invaluable as a species and enjoy multi-galactic respect.

"Then, there was War—the last Great Time War. A war between the Time Lords and their allies, and the Daleks and their allies. This war raged through several dimensions and across many galaxies, some of which no longer exist because of the destructive use of Time as a weapon. Time is plenty capable on its own of destroying stars, planets, and whole galaxies; but when wielded by creatures who can manipulate it as easily as you fold paper, it becomes something else entirely—a weapon of mass destruction that makes the advent of nuclear power look like children playing in a puddle.

"We used time-loops and temporal paradoxes in an effort to keep ahead of our enemies. Timelines were erased that lead would have led to spectacular discoveries, wonderful new species, whole histories—gone in a moment. Some were restored, others altered. The battlefields in other dimensions rained terrible fallout onto this reality. Whole systems warped, people altered or vanished outright. The fabric of the Universe burned. Between us and the Daleks, we created nightmare creatures that were weapons in their own right, the Horde of Travesties, the Skaro Degradations and…others—it was a war for all of creation."

The Doctor pauses, scrubbing at his face with his hands. He's visibly pale and shaking with the power of the memories that are beating against his psyche. Rose is trying her best to soften the edges of the despair she can feel trying to overwhelm him, but the intensity is so great, she's nearly overcome herself. It is Dougie who comes to the Doctor's assistance, this time.

"Doctor, may I?" Dougie asks, holding a hand out for the Doctor to take. The Doctor stares at the offered hand and Dougie for a long minute, not entirely sure he can handle being touched right now by anyone other than Rose; and even that is almost more than he can stand. There's a reason he's kept all of these memories pushed as far down as possible. But he owes it to Dougie's people, who sacrificed so many of themselves, to tell their lost son about what had happened to them—what his people had done to them.

Reaching out slowly, as if he's afraid it might hurt, the Doctor takes Dougie's hand. Immediately, there is relief. All the memories are intact, in his mind he can see Davros' ship being swallowed by the Nightmare Child as if he's still there; but the intensity of the emotions is blunted. He feels, but they can't overwhelm him anymore. He is looking through a dark mirror at his own memories.

His eyes snapping to Dougie, the Doctor sees the Tanu is touching his torc. Dougie's own eyes are closed, and his breathing quick and shallow, you can almost see the intense waves of emotion roil off him like heat. Opening his eyes, they are an intense electric blue that nearly glows; but with a small smile and a sigh they return to normal, and the denseness of the air around him dissipates as he lets go of the Doctor's hand and his emotions that he'd siphoned off.

"Redac…healing is not my strongest talent," he says, coughing slightly. "But I assisted our healers many times while still on Duat; I have an affinity for it. We called the talent Redaction—the rewriting or, in a sense, rewiring of pathways to achieve a beneficial whole. In this instance, I placed a permeable barrier between your everyday mind and those memories that are the most damaging. Your mindscape is very well organised, so it was a simple matter of placement; but it is not permanent. You must learn to allow these emotions to pass through you. It serves no one to retain the painful impressions. That portion of a memory is meant to be forgotten, so the lessons available can be  _learned_ , not relived," Dougie explains gently but with the kind chiding of a professor to a student.

"Ha! You sound like my teacher K'anpo, on Gallifrey. He often tried to teach me the same lesson, but I was not always an apt pupil," the Doctor explains with a small, pained smile. Running his hands through his hair, he then squeezes Rose's hand where it's been resting on his lap before he continues. "Truthfully, I feel like I  _must_  remember everything—all the pain, all the horror, all of the entire experience. Billions have died because of choices I've made—it is the least I can do for them." Not being able to stand being in the circle of friendly well meaning any longer, the Doctor stands and moves to the window, looking out across a Gallifreyan night sky.

Dougie is not so easily silenced by his walking away. "Doctor, if they have died, then your self imposed penance does not help them, and it will eventually hinder your ability to assist others. You are a good man, you do not need to harm yourself." Dougie does not understand why the Doctor would choose to keep so much pain for himself. He understands the difficulty behind making decisions that affect others, but the Doctor is a single person; surely he hasn't caused as much destruction as his comments imply.

Still facing the window, with his arms rigid at his sides, the Doctor replies quietly, "Dougie, good men don't have rules—I have hundreds of rules. Rules to remind myself what I am capable of, to stop myself from becoming what many of my own people became—monsters with the power to end everything."

The three friends look to each other and then to Rose, who raises her hand, asking for them to remain quiet; and for a few moments, there is only silence. They don't really want to interrupt him. The Doctor has never shared so much about his life during the War, but it hurts them to see him willing to harm himself.

The silence and Rose's constant stream of strength is what the Doctor needs to gather himself and continue. He stays at the window though. After a heavy sigh, he stuffs his hands in his pockets and picks up where he'd left off.

"Right, so what do the Lené have to do with all of this? Well, your people, Dougie, are currently at the cusp of evolutionary change. They are at the same point in their evolution where Rassilon began tinkering with us Gallifreyans and turned us into Time Lords…a very long time ago for us.

"The Lené are now aware of Time as a separate dimension. They have begun to feel the presence of timelines and how they flow through the fabric of our reality. Already having a healthy brain capacity with plenty of time spent evolving your metapsychic talents, you are so close to crossing the gap and allowing your minds to expand into other dimensions; as ours have. But…you're not there yet.

"With your other extensive talents, this burgeoning potential gave many of you an additional ability to almost foresee potentials. They could feel where the timelines were likely to bunch up next. This…this foreknowledge was 92.625% accurate, and the Time Lords leaned heavily on these Lené to help predict where we should concentrate our forces. That way we weren't wasting time and resources trying to cover so much area…not that it mattered in the end

"The Lené were only too willing to help. Being a passive race, it was a difficult decision for them, but understanding what would happen if the Daleks won, they volunteered their greatest talents to us.

"Here's the problem though; being on that evolutionary cusp I mentioned, made these Lené vulnerable. They could sense more than their minds or bodies were actually capable of processing. Time Lords are already evolved to the point of existing in multiple dimensions. Our brains are larger and we have other organs in place to not only sense but manipulate time and deal with the bodily repercussions of that. The Lené do not. Your people sacrificed themselves to help us, Dougie. Many, many of them died screaming as their brains burned, unable to deal with the overload of information they were striving for. Your minds aren't ready to accept multiple existing timelines, multiple sets of intact memories—but what were the alternatives?

"As I mentioned before, the war raged through several dimensions, galaxies, and star systems. Dimensionally and via the Time Vortex, one galaxy is just as close or just as far away as any other, so Duat was not saved by distance. Your planet remains more or less intact; but many of the daughter worlds were lost. Some were destroyed outright, others wiped clean of life through the effects of entropy, and still others depopulated by the viruses the Daleks released to create their slaves." he finishes, turning to face the wide-eyed group, grief etched in the Doctor's features. In the dimmer light near the window, his stance and expression remind Rose so much of his previous incarnation that it hurts her to see him struggling with the pain of remembrance.

Looking directly at Dougie, he apologies again, "I am sorry."

Turning away from the window; but unable to sit, the Doctor begins pacing in an attempt to alleviate some of his tension as he comes nearer to the conclusion of his narrative. Rose knows what's coming and Jack is familiar with most of it, but there is nothing they can do to help the Doctor as he shares the memory of his penultimate decision.

"The Time Lords became desperate. Thinking to resurrect our greatest hero, they actually acquired our greatest enemy—Rassilon, the  _father_  of Time Lord civilisation. He who had made us what we were through genetic manipulation and extensive tinkering. Far in our past, he chose to create new Time Lords rather than allowing them to be born. Sifting the wanted genetics from the unwanted in the Looming process, so only Time Lords of the variety he needed would eventually exist. He also created the power source that fuelled our society and planet and gave us the ability to travel through time. He was a brilliant engineer and his ideals of a benevolent society who watched but didn't interfere were the basis of our civilisation—-in the beginning.

"Unfortunately when they resurrected him, something went wrong. Whether it was the process itself or some long hidden trait that the War finally triggered—he became ruthless, power-hungry, and completely insane. He decided it would be a better option to end everything…all of Creation, so his chosen Time Lords could 'ascend' as beings of pure energy. The Daleks could not be allowed to learn our secrets, that was true, but ending all life  _everywhere_  was not an option that should  _ever_  have been contemplated. It made us no better than the Daleks.

"So I stopped him—me. There was no one else mad enough to try. I and my one lonely TARDIS took an impossible weapon and we ended the Time War. Time-Locked it in place, so in a sense, it never existed at all. I assumed for years that I killed all of my people and all of the Daleks. I alone committed genocide against two of the greatest races this Universe has ever known, for the sake of that same Universe. I know I am hailed as a hero by a few and reviled by many more. My race is completely forgotten in some parts and reduced to the stuff of fairy tales in others. I keep stumbling across Daleks though—they're like roaches, but I have yet to find more of my own people."

He ends his pacing by coming up behind Rose and resting both his hands on her shoulders. His hair is wild and there are dark circles under his eyes. Looking over at Dougie, their eyes meet. "Rose's becoming a Time Lord is an impossible gift, but she and I eat impossible for breakfast, yeah?" he says with a tired smile squeezing her shoulders before resuming his place by her side. Even with Dougie's assistance, the giving of this tale has cost the Doctor more than they realised.

Rose takes his hands in hers, spreading herself over his bruised mind like a balm, hoping to ease some of the burden. The part of her mind not engaged in soothing her husband is working furiously on the memories of his that she'd been through earlier. The ones that he'd received from the Moment. There is something about them that's bothering her, something she's missing. She'll have to go over them again when she has more time. Now, she needs to focus on the Doctor; he needs her.

Their companions are in a bit of shock over the intensity of the story. Donna and Dougie are wiping their eyes, while Jack's gaze follows the Doctor. In the mental gymnastics department, they've been through a lot together in recent months, and Jack understands to a better extent how hard this was for the Doctor.

"Doctor, I…thank you for telling me, and sharing so much. I will have to think on what you've said…about my people. I hope you do not mind my staying with you for a bit, as I am unsure if I wish to go on to Duat immediately. The time does not yet feel right, if that makes any sense." Standing, he gives everyone a tense little smile before turning specifically to the Doctor. "Please excuse me, may I retire? I would like to meditate on what I've learned."

"Of course! What sort of a host am I? The TARDIS will have provided a room, I'll…."

"No, Doctor, I'll take Dougie" Jack offers. "I find that I'm in desperate need of a long hot shower, so I'll see you all in the morning. This way, my friend. Grab your kit and I'll show you where your room ought to be. She'll let us know which one's yours."

With a short bow in the Doctor and Rose's direction, Dougie gratefully follows Jack from the room. The more the knowledge of his people's fate laps against shores of his thoughts, the more he really needs to be alone. He knew the tale would likely be sad and fraught with unpleasantness, but the implications behind what the Doctor said and more importantly didn't say, is beginning to cause him physical discomfort. He was always a little too high on the empathic spectrum, and all of these revelations piled on top of the load of emotional baggage he'd channeled for the Doctor, makes him feel a bit ill.

He's very thankful for the running commentary from Jack as they head past the console room and down the hallway that leads towards the bedrooms. It distracts him enough to keep moving. Finding one of the doors swinging open as they pass, Jack leaves Dougie after folding the taller alien in a warm, sympathetic embrace.

"Good night, Dougie. Follow your own advice and don't let these stories suck you in. We're here for you, too. You and the Doctor are unique in being so specifically alone from your people, but that doesn't mean there aren't those of us who care. You must still be here for a reason," Jack says, making certain he has Dougie's attention. With a squeeze to Dougie's arm and his usual smirk, Jack continues past to his own bedroom.

Dougie stands at the entrance to his room for a moment, allowing Jack's words to soak in. Jack must be a bit empathic as well slightly telepathic, because he is exactly right. Dougie had been feeling terribly alone by the end of the Doctor's tale, and he is not. Jack was correct to remind him of that. Providence  _has_  been kind, and he needs to give thanks to Great Tana for showing him this opportunity.

Upon entering his room and closing the door behind him, he finds a space carefully decorated for him, mirroring his home on Duat. He stares around, stunned at the multi-hued hangings and light, airy draperies that festoon his room. He even has a window, and through it he can see the hillsides that once surrounded his house, exactly as he remembers them, covered in purple and orange flowers waving gently in the mild breeze that filters through the window and sets the sheer drapes around his sleeping pallet to swaying.

In a state of complete shock, he continues exploring his quarters. Like most personal spaces of the Tanu on Duat, it is very simple—only having the necessary rooms needed for a clear mind and a contented soul. His en suite is a deep sunken pool decorated with tiles depicting sea life from his home, surrounded by simple benches of stone.

Seeing one more impossible door leading from the bathing room, Dougie feels a sense of excitement and sorrow at what should be there, and is still utterly astounded when he opens the door to step into his private sanctuary. The walls are the same deep calming blue, spangled with the silver stars that he remembers, and there are already white mourning candles of mirdanwood extract burning on Tana's altar against the far wall below a mosaic of his Goddess as a multi-pronged star made of inlaid pieces of many precious stones and metals. The effect makes the star appear to coruscate in the candlelight.

Tears freely running down his cheeks, he takes a moment, hand to the wall, to silently thank the TARDIS for creating exactly what he needs. He then takes the final step forward and falls sobbing to his knees on the pillow before the altar, and raising his hands above his head, begins singing a lament for his long vanished people and for his cousins that died more recently—tragically valiant in their service saving the Universe.

The TARDIS silently closes the doors between Dougie and the others. She'd felt his needs and is pleased that She could provide so much for him. It has been a very long time since She had so many voices in Her halls. At the same time that She is enjoying them all, She still grieves for Her own sisters who died in the War. Wrapping Dougie's sanctuary in Her own awareness, She adds Her sorrow to his and joins with his Song for their remembered dead.


	6. The Trick of Finding What You Din't Lose

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> What happened to Gallifrey?

**6 The Trick of Finding What You Didn't Lose**

In the library, Rose, the Doctor, and Donna appear deep in their own thoughts. Donna is still dealing with the emotional turmoil of the story and the Doctor is laying back on the love seat. He looks to be deep in thought, his arm over his eyes, but he is, in fact, sleeping.

Rose is worried about the Doctor, but furiously thinking about the differences between the Doctor's original memories of using the Moment, and those She showed him when She revealed that She was also Bad Wolf, claiming them the true version. Turning to ask the Doctor a question, Rose pauses. She's about to poke him, when she realises he's fast asleep. The last couple of hours were harder on him than she'd thought. He was almost never relaxed enough to sleep with others around, and that alone spoke volumes about his exhaustion.

Carefully getting up so as to not disturb him, Rose crosses the room toward the windows wanting to see what is happening on Gallifrey today and thinking the view might help settle her thoughts. Looking out, it is a clear and brilliant night. One of the rare ones where both suns are down, and the moons haven't risen yet. The night is spangled with stars, and off to her right she can just see the limb of a large nebula poking up past the horizon, edges fuzzy in the atmosphere. There is something bothering her about the view, but she can't quite put her fingers on it. Then, peripherally, she notices the movement beneath her. Pressing herself against the glass, she can see vehicles moving below her. So lost is she in her observation, she hasn't heard Donna come up behind her.

"What are you looking at Rose? Oh, space cars! That's just wizard; where's this view from?" Donna asks quite innocently.

Jumping a bit, so absorbed was she in her observation, Rose gasps. Not taking her eyes off the changes below, she answers, "The TARDIS is showing us Gallifrey, from the Prydonian Chapter Library windows that were at the top of the spire in the Citadel of the Time Lords. This should be a really detailed hologram, but lately I've been wondering," she says this last almost to herself. "Anyway, we are looking out the windows of that library down toward the city itself. And today, for some reason, the TARDIS has added …"

She lets out a startled screech when the Doctor places his hand against her back to lean in and follow her gaze.

"Gah! I think you just stopped my hearts! Did I miss something on the calendar and it's startle Rose night?"

"Nah, I can still hear them. What are you and Donna so intent…whaaaat…?" he trails off as he catches sight of the movement in the air beneath them, and the lanes of air traffic gliding smoothly in their orderly lanes.

"Flying cars," Donna says. "I thought you said your home was gone. Having a movie of it in your library is a little weird and a bit sad, if you ask me, spaceman. Definitely not healthy," Donna tells him, hands on hips.

Not getting a reaction from either one of them, Donna turns away from the view confused as to why they would be surprised about the cars if they knew the view was of a city. Stretching, Donna is caught be an enormous yawn as she feels the day's events finally catch up to her.

"Well, if you two are good, I think I'll head to bed, too. Are we leaving tonight?"

"Nope, I would like to run some scans on Dougie before we leave, so probably in the morning," the Doctor says absently. "We're fine Donna, thanks. Have a good night," he finishes, eyes still glued to the window.

Donna rolls her eyes at them. What could so exciting about a hologram with cars? She's a little worried that surrounding yourself with moving vistas of your dead homeworld is a bit morbid, but maybe it's normal for aliens. Shrugging to herself, she heads off to her room. On her way there, she remembers that she still has a bone to pick with Jack, but it will have to wait now. She really wants to know why he took her hand earlier. Maybe he needs a good smack for trying to manage her, or maybe some hand holding should happen more often. She can't decide which idea unsettles her more at the moment. Snorting to herself at her musings, she lets herself into her room and prepares for bed.

* * *

Back in the library, Rose and the Doctor are still watching the traffic.

"Why would the TARDIS add traffic, Rose? It doesn't make sense, and truthfully it's kinda morbid."

Rose's only reply is, "Hmmmmmmm."

Taking another few moments, she turns to the Doctor with her first theory. "Could it have anything to do with what you learned from the Moment about Gallifrey?"

" _Learned_  is an awfully strong word. She allowed me to have hope, and didn't tell me I shouldn't believe that Gallifrey is whole, but I haven't actually  _learned_  anything. Well, that's not entirely true," he amends with a rueful smile. "I learned that all the previous memories I had thought were true, about my ending of the Time War—are actually false…and haven't sort of happened though they did. Sometimes I even confuse myself with all the timey-wimey weirdness!" he exclaims, pushing his hand through his already mussed hair.

"About that—the images She showed you involved this you and two other incarnations of yourself—one future, one past. But then She says it won't happen that way. What does that mean?" Rose gazes at the Doctor a moment. Seeing that he's thinking, she takes his hand, tugging on it to get him to look at her. She can feel through their bond that he is feeling a little out of control on this whole issue.

"Come on, let's sit back down," she says with a smile, pulling him back toward the loveseat and the fire.

"There's something else I noticed," she says as they sit back down. "Future you's companion, Clara? I think I've seen her before."

"What? Where, when? I thought she looked familiar, but…" He trails off as he thinks back to her in that memory. Slightly shorter than Rose, very pretty brunette. She gives the impression of being a bit delicate but actually capable. "I don't know what it is, but I can't place her."

"I might be able to help there. While you were gone, Darling showed me the day you first 'borrowed' Her, with Susan. That girl, Clara, was there."

"Rose, you can't be serious; that was seven centuries ago, and on Gallifrey. There's no way…." Again he trails off as he dredges up that memory.  _Wandering around the TARDIS docks, just knowing he's about to get caught, Susan tight to his side. He must get her away from here. Things aren't really safe, and oh look, this one's door is open. Looking about inside, it's clean, but powered down. He and Susan start poking around the Console room, but can't seem to find the relays. Poking his head back out the door to make sure they're still unobserved—"Doctor, Doctor?!" Turning quickly in the direction of the voice…_

"Holy shit, Rose! You're right. She looks exactly the same; hair length and everything. Cheeky little minx. She told me to take this one, said she'd be more fun." Looking around at the TARDIS as a whole, he says quietly, almost to himself, "She was right about that. But Rose, that isn't possible."

"Really, Doctor, I think you'd get over ever using that word. I don't understand it, either; but it's her. And I know that those are or were images from your future—what would have happened, and Bad Wolf/Moment said it would be different now. How different? I'm not there; with this you or future you. You either didn't get me back in that timeline, or I'm dead," Rose says dismally.

Repositioning himself on the loveseat, the Doctor pulls Rose back against his chest, feeling her sadness. "Don't say that Rose. I..I don't know what happened, but I'm sure you're not dead. And anyway, as you said—different timeline. It won't happen like that, is what She said,  _because_  I'm not alone." He cuddles her close, surrounding himself in her scent while continuing to think.

Running over the memories supplied by the Moment, he says, "So now I remember…no…they're all garbled. In whatever way we settled Gallifrey, it still caused me to regenerate. I still don't know exactly what happened, but the Moment…Bad Wolf implied it didn't burn. That still doesn't tell me where it is, and the solution should have been to take the entire planetary system; I would think. Without a great deal of preparation and fail-safes already in place, the planet alone would turn into a frozen lump in hours."

"But Doctor, my dream. Romana said it reminded her of Gallifrey. The Sphynx communicated with me in a dream," Rose says excitedly. "Did you see it? It's when she taught me the Spherical Gallifreyan."

"Hold on. God, I'm tired…want some dreams of my own soon. Okay, let's go see this dream of yours again shall we?"

"Together?" She asks.

"Better with two," he replies giving her a squeeze. Giggling at the reminder, she relaxes against his chest.

Putting his fingers to her temples, Rose pulls up the memory and they experience it together.

_Rose is in space. Suspended in the cold dark places, surrounded by stars and dust, the seeds of creation. With a thought, she can turn, seeing everything. She's near a giant blue star, burning hotly in the silence. It's almost hard to look at, but beautiful beyond measure and all alone. To her other side are streamers of dust clouds and lanes illuminated gold and rose by the protostars within. In every direction she can see stars, nebulae, far off galaxies; it's inspiring and she loves them all._

_Looking down at herself, Rose sees she's glowing gold, protected and buoyed by a fine cloud of golden dust that surrounds and weaves through her-Bad Wolf. In her mind, she feels the excitement and affection from Bad Wolf at her recognition. She knows this, just as she knows she is also Rose Tyler. Here in her mind, playing in her dreams, she is not restrained by her growing but still limited understanding. As she plays with the dust enveloping her, she feels that she isn't alone. Turning toward her visitor, Rose sees another column of golden energy. This one laced with curling tendrils of colours for which Rose has no names._

_The other energy moves toward Rose; she isn't afraid. She hears a song, and it reminds her of the TARDIS; it is familiar. Moving closer, she harmonises with the song and adds to it. Together, the two sing eternities. They sing of love and life, of the beauty of the cosmos, the destruction that heralds birth, and the death that brings life. They create melodies that rage around them in a maelstrom of creative forces as they dance around each other. They sing of breezes and rain, of raising mountains and burning rock, of fertile fields and ranging forests. Their song is that of creation, of saving what must not be lost._

_Their chords and melodies weave in strands of energy from the nearby star, who gladly gifts itself to them, and with this gift they remake anew._

_Rose has no concept of Time in her dream. It could be a billion billion years in either the future or the past, it does not matter. Coming to rest, their dance complete, she is astonished to see the changes beneath her. There is no longer a blue giant star hanging lonely in space. It has been replaced by an entire solar system of five planets and one medium yellow star, orbited by a smaller dwarf. The planets even have moons, and one has a set of gorgeous rings. That was her part. She specifically remembers singing about the beauty of Saturn's rings._

_She wishes to visit what they've done. Moving closer, her friend reaches out to stop her decent._

_* NO, I AM SORRY. YOU MUST NOT GO, NOT YET—IT IS NOT FINISHED*_

_Humming her sadness, Rose doesn't understand, but is willing to wait. Turning back to her friend, she moves to her side._

_/But why? We did this. We made this. It is wonderful./_

_The entity brushes Rose with affection, and Rose is once again reminded of the TARDIS, but also of more-something very familiar to her._

_/Sphynx! You're the Sphynx! That's why I recognise you even though you look different. I didn't think I would ever see you again. Have you …recovered?/_

_Rose sends the Sphynx her love and wonder at what they have done and all she has been given, mixed with concern for Her well being and a generous helping of awe._

_* YOU ARE WELCOME. I GAVE YOU THAT FORM, I NO LONGER HAVE THE SAME ENERGY TO TAKE IT. I ONLY HAVE YOU A SHORT TIME MORE, AND WE HAVE DONE MUCH, BUT HAVE MUCH LEFT TO DO. A CRISIS IS COMING, AND YOU WILL NEED TO BECOME MORE TO COMBAT IT. MUCH DEPENDS ON YOU AND YOUR DEVELOPMENT *_

_/I will do whatever is needed, but I must find my Doctor; he is lost to me./_

_* ONLY FOR A SHORT TIME, CHILD. YOU WILL RETRIEVE HIM. YOUR ARE BOTH NECESSARY. THE STORM AND THE WOLF MUST COMBINE TO HEAL THE RUPTURES. I WILL SHOW YOU *_

_With that, the Sphynx takes Rose and moves her to a section of space that is nearly empty—far, far from where they had been. Then the Sphynx releases information in Rose's mind...Spherical Gallifreyan and more. Rose watches as the Sphynx takes a word that Rose knows in Gallifreyan and writes it in gold circles in the area around them. She then lays the writing flat and morphs the circular letters into spheres—conjoined spheres within spheres. Then, She sets them in motion, singing to them Her intent. Rose watches in fascination as the Sphynx's intent is made manifest right before her eyes, the word_ **_-rock-_ ** _becoming a large grey pocked asteroid hanging in space before them._

_* COME TO ME. I WILL SHOW YOU WHAT MUST HAPPEN TO FIX THE GROWING BREACH. YOU WILL HAVE TO CHOOSE *_

_Rose moves to the Sphynx, and is completely enveloped by Her energy. The Sphynx is made of pure love. Everything She sees, touches, creates, and destroys, She loves. Rose is overwhelmed a moment, attempting to process the depth of it all. Taking the gold and coloured strands into herself, Rose see's everything that is, was, or ever could be. The Sphynx focuses Her on the destruction of Chelsea 426. Rose sees the Timelines as they should have been and as they are now. She sees the breach as a gaping hungry fissure in the fabric of space-time, and the rupture is getting bigger. Soon, it could expand to the point where the Universe will accelerate towards it, and all will end. Rose knows what she has to do. She hates it; the Doctor will hate what she needs to do. She has no more choice than the Doctor did when stopping Rassilon. She will do this thing. This breach must be closed._

_Rose pulls back from the Sphynx, their energies still embracing one another. Rose is about to speak when_ -

**-DOCTOR!-**

"That's enough!" Rose gasps, ending the memory there. She wasn't quite fast enough to block all of the fear and pain. Enough of it transferred that they're a little tender headed, even from its echo.

"I'm sorry, Doctor. I was so caught up…I wasn't paying attention," she says between pants. Both of them are trying to catch their breaths, chests heaving. They might as well have been running.

"Not your fault, Rose. Blimey, that was interesting and more than a little weird. Don't take this the wrong way, but it does border a bit on the ridiculous, what you and/or we could be capable of after all this...assistance" he says absently, waving his hands around his head as he tries to wrap it around the possible implications. Rose snorts at his observation in amused agreement.

Unable to keep his seat, he gets up to start pacing again. "Rose, that was definitely similar to Gallifrey's planetary system—Karn, Polarfrey, though with rings…that was pretty—nice touch, Demos, even Kasterborous and the two suns, but it was missing Gallifrey. The stars were completely different, too…" Closing his eyes and pinching the bridge of his nose in his thoughts, the Doctor suddenly comes to a stop. Taking a running leap, he clears the love seat, and is out the door almost before she can squeak in surprise.

"Doctor?" she calls after him, surprised at his abrupt departure. "I don't know why I'm surprised," she mutters to herself.

Closing her eyes a moment and leaning back wearily, she asks Darling,  _/So, should we go see what he's up to?/_

**_~My Wolf, he is currently accessing all of the star charts in my Data Core.~_ **

"Ahhh…" Abruptly, Rose sits up.  _/I think this is the perfect time to give him his surprise! Is he asking for readouts yet?/ s_ he thinks toward Darling.

**_~Just now, my Wolf~_ **

Grinning like a fool, she responds as she makes her way from the Library and down the hall,  _/Fantastic! Send them along and I will meet him there. Don't make it too circuitous…you know how tetchy he can get./_

**_~Indeed. He is already annoyed that the Console is not spitting them out like usual. I will encourage him along presently~_ **

There is a new door next to the one leading to their bedroom that Rose opens quietly and steps through. It won't have that precise location when the Doctor finds it, but that is just part of the surprise.

Leaning back, Rose rubs her hands in glee and beams at the thought of reaction as she looks around the Doctor's new Study. The library was fine when they were alone, but with three companions, it can get a bit tight. And the Doctor works much better when he has his own space where he can litter his work area in a way that only makes sense to him. Have books open or strewn everywhere, just in case-charts, readouts, computer screens would soon be in evidence. Rose knows he'll be pleased.

She had asked the TARDIS' help, and they had looked through the previous templates to see what he'd liked. It all culminated in a variation of the library his Eighth self had loved so much. This one opened right from their room as well as from the hallway. It had a very Edwardian England feel to it, with its panelled walls and dark wood, but Rose had livened it up a bit with blue and gold wallpaper above the paneling. There were pillows in the chairs and drapes that were the same fabric as in their room, dark blue velvet with gold Gallifreyan words work in it. His chair was stolen directly from the past, well-worn and comfortable. She added a sitting area for herself as well, just to the side of the fireplace. She liked the idea of cozy nights in here reading while he calculated and solved the Universe's problems in his head and on paper rather than on the run. Rare, though, those opportunities were at times.

Rose smiles to herself as she gets comfortable in her chair, the TARDIS kindly deposits some tea and biscuits, just as she can hear the Doctor's exasperated grumbling through the door.

"Oh this door is it? I'm allowed this door. Not that door, or that door, or the previous 30 doors, but  _this_  door. Well, maybe I don't like this door. I don't know what you're up to, but I do  ** _not_**  appreciate…gah!"

He must have been leaning against the door, because he's now strewn artlessly onto the floor of his study. Hair and suit askew, he stays on the floor a moment, blinking owlishly around himself. Springing to his feet as the door closes, he turns a slow circle in wonder as he catalogues the new space.

"A study, a man cave, a refuge, my own space to…," he starts as he comes around the desk. "Oh, my favourite chair…how are you chair?" he asks absently, sliding around the desk and bouncing in it. Laying his hands on the desk top, a display immediately slides into place above its surface and his readouts begin printing from the slot to the side.

Jumping to his feet again, he races around the desk and runs his hands along the wall a moment, silently thanking his ship, and mumbling to himself about the placement for a laboratory.

Rose is longer able to contain herself and a muffled chuckle escapes through the hands over her mouth. She'd tried to play it cool and have him finally notice her sipping her tea, but he was so adorable petting all his new toys that she couldn't help it.

The Doctor jumps and twists around, eyes wide, to find Rose, also wide eyed and trying hard not to laugh at him.

"Rose! I have a study! Isn't this great? I didn't realise how much I missed it. How did you find it, She must have been….wait…"

"Surprise!" Rose says as she gets up and walks toward him.

"You  _made_  me a study. That's brilliant! You're brilliant! You're the best wife, ever!" Leaping forward, he picks her up and spins them both around in his exuberance, the previous agitation completely forgotten in the warm glow of Rose's giggles and beaming smile.

"You're welcome, you daft man. I will fess up to some selfishness in the present. This way you can keep it just as 'organised,'" she brackets the word with air quotes "as you like, and no one gets yelled at for moving your worksheets. Then, everyone can use the library."

"Weellll, those pages were very specifically laid out in a particular randomised patten, and…What do you mean…'organised'?" He mimics her air quotes. "I'm organised. I know where almost everything is all the time. Big Time Lord brain, you know," he quips, tapping his skull.

Rolling her eyes at him, Rose gives him a quick kiss. "Yeeeessss, big Time Lord brain…. _I know_." She mocks him lightly, with her tongue in her teeth. "I'm glad you like it. So are you still tired, or are you all manic to go over these charts? Because our bedroom is through that door," she points out, heading toward it. "And I'm going to bed. It's been…ummm…8 days…Wow, time flies. So, if you get bored, you know where I'll be."

"Bored? Rose Tyler, I am unlikely to get bored, I want to cross check the known star charts against the configuration in your dream, and I would like to try and recreate a spectral…"

"Doctor," she says, turning around and coming back to him. To stop him, she adds a finger to his lips before she replaces it with her own. After a thorough snog, she continues toward the door. "I love you, I'm going to bed. Goodnight"

As the door closes behind her, the Doctor looks around again a bit dazed from the really magnificent snog he'd just received. Eyes alighting on the stack of freshly printed readouts, he lifts his foot to step toward them, but his eyes are drawn back to the door into their bedroom with a soon to be sleeping Rose on the other side of it.

"Three or fours of sleep wouldn't hurt anything. The damn planet's waited this long, it can wait around a bit more." Turning toward their bedroom door, he opens it and slips through quietly as the TARDIS dims the lights in his study.

Quiet laughter follows for a few minutes before a peaceful silence settles throughout the TARDIS.


	7. You Don't Have to Go, but You Can't Stay Here

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Time for the next adventure; where should we go?

**You Don't Have to Leave, but You Can't Stay Here**

Darling decides on her own that since it's morning outside, it should be morning inside as well. She's feeling a bit spunky with all these companions in Her halls. Gradually, the sun rising over the mountains filters through the new windows that She has placed in all the rooms. For the Doctor and Rose, that also includes the dome over their bed.

"Mmmmmrmmph…light. Mmrrrmmmm….no…." Rose grumbles as she tucks a pillow over her head. Her and the Doctor have been in bed for 4 hours and 22 minutes, which is actually plenty of time, but it's so warm and comfortable being all snuggled up into his side that she's unwilling to do anything else. The Doctor, who's sleeping on his stomach with his face buried in the crook of his elbow, hasn't noticed the change in the light yet. He does hum a moment in his sleep at Rose's jostling, but that's about it.

Not entirely asleep any longer, Rose can hear and feel Darling's amusement at everyone's reaction to the morning light, and that finally charms her out of bed. Folding the covers back, Rose is unreasonably annoyed that the Doctor is still completely comatose. Deciding to have a little fun at his expense, she tip-toes to the door of their en suite, before launching the pillow back at the bed, and her husband's sleeping head.

"Oooooof…wha….What?! Gah! What's wrong? Who? Rose?" he splutters, startled out of a really great dream about banana daiquiris, a beach and Rose wearing scraps of blue as a bathing suit. Pushing himself up on his elbows he looks around blearily for Rose. Finally, spotting her doubled over in laughter, he figures out what happened and slowly smirks in return, thoughts of retaliation already forming.

Rose isn't sure what's more amusing the look on his face or his hair. He's sporting a half sticky-up, half flattened do, that will make him cringe once he actually gets up and looks in a mirror. He's so adorable, she almost gives in and goes to kiss him…almost.

"Showering…wanna help?" she asks him with a wicked grin. With a shriek of delight she bolts into the bathroom as he seems to almost levitate in his haste to get out of bed and chase her to the shower. There is much giggling and a few more shrieks before anything like a shower occurs.

"Now Rose, quit squirming or I can't reach the soap….orrrrr that works…Who...who needs soap...guh? Yup, oh God…."

* * *

Breakfast on the TARDIS this morning, is a boisterous and happy affair. There's lots of chatting about the TARDIS' joke with the windows, and speculation about where they're going next.

The Doctor's first priority is to run some scans on Dougie in the infirmary then—the Vortex and the Universe.

 _/With five people to help pilot, this could be fun!,/_  the Doctor thinks to himself, as he looks around at his kitchen full of people. TARDIS' are never meant to be so empty. This feels good…really good.

The Doctor shares his thoughts with Rose on his way to the infirmary with Dougie. As he heads off to do that, Rose begins explaining to Jack and Donna how they can help. Jack already has a little experience so he explains the station next to him for Donna. Working together ought to be fun for them. Rose is trying very hard to ignore all the little sideways glances they keep giving each other.

She can't imagine Jack would let his attraction go too long without acting on it. If there's one thing the man is extraordinarily good at it's making a person feel special. She just hopes that he's actually interested in Donna in a deeper sort of way. Rose has a feeling about them and she likes it, but she has to rein in her desire to "help". Something she realises with an inner hidden smile, that she inherited from her mother apparently, thinking back to all the times her mum had attempted to be "helpful" in her past relationships.

 _/Leave well enough alone, Rose,/_ she thinks to herself, grinning at the blush that just rose to Donna's cheeks as Jack reached over her to explain a different button.

"And if this one turns blue push this button, but you really just want to make slight adjustments to that lever keeping the level on this gauge in the middle, but I'll be right here if you need me," Jack says, making sure he " _accidentally_ " brushes her hand with his on the way back to his side.

"Of course, you will. Do I look daft?" Donna sounds more annoyed than she is. She's a bit put out at how much Jack affects her, and thinks hiding it in sass will just be safer.

"By the way," Donna begins, narrowing her eyes at Jack. "I trust Rose, but you Pretty boy, will have to earn it. So keep your hands to yourself, I'm not some easy Earth girl."

"Easy is not a word I would use to describe you Donna Noble," Jack replies with a smile. "Sexy, smart, and funny work though. Are they acceptable?" Jack knows he's playing with fire, but he feels Donna's worth getting burned for.

"Are you implying I'm difficult?" The warning tone evident, even though she knows she's being just that—difficult.

"Oi! You two! Do you call this flirting? Like you're still in primary school, you are," Rose points out with an eye roll. "I'm going to go check on the Doctor and Dougie. Decide where you want to go…and be nice!" Pointing a finger and an arched eyebrow at both of them like recalcitrant children, Rose chuckles softly to herself as she heads towards the infirmary.

She can hear the Doctor and Dougie conversing about something as she gets closer to the door. They seem to be developing an easy friendship that really pleases Rose. She's known the Doctor has felt lonely and not in a way that she can be of much help with. It is that loneliness of being without like minds.

She and the Doctor have plenty to talk about, and even more as she's begun studying higher aspects of certain types of engineering, but in other ways, no amount of studying will make up for having once lived in Time Lord society.

As much as he's currently longing for his home, now that he's been teased with its potential survival, Rose knows that this is more about him looking for forgiveness than actually wanting to be a part of it again. At least not a part of what it had been during the War. It was bad enough being part of the political intrigue and one-upmanship that pushed the Doctor away in the first place, but the atrocities that  _they_  (Time Lords as a people) were willing to inflict on the Universe as acceptable during wartime, were, in Rose's opinion, the only truly unforgivable acts.

She also hasn't given up hope that they'll find more Time Lords outside of the Time Lock or Bubble Universe. She doesn't really know why, but whether they find Gallifrey or not, she feels there are more of his people here—in their Universe. Knowing that the Doctor has searched for years and years, does not deter her innate sense that she's right. Now, she'll just have to convince her moody Time Lord that there must be a way to search or a sensor to build or something more Star Trek-ish. That's what her human-esque ingenuity is best at right—coming up with ideas that wouldn't have occurred to him? She'll just have to be brilliant, is the thought that has her smiling as she enters the infirmary.

"Ohhh…look at this! This, my dear Tanu is the very early beginnings if your tertiary hippocampus, which is necessary for Time sensing…," the Doctor is saying to Dougie as she enters. Both men are glued to a monitor showing the insides of two heads and detailed schematics of their brains. Noticing her entrance the Doctor turns to her excitedly.

"Rose, look! This is my brain and this one Dougie's brain. Look how similar they are and there is a 6 million year difference in our personal timelines as well as another few million years of Time Lord evolution before Rassilon started mucking about. But look how similar they are…fascinating!" He is so happy and delighted that Rose has to laugh at him. Especially after her previous Star Trek thought and his now very Spockian comment.

"Boys and their toys. I am very glad that you  _also_  have a brain Dougie," Rose teases. Dougie snorts at her in amusement, knowing she is purposefully pushing the Doctor's buttons.

"No, really Rose…look," the Doctor insists, too excited to give in to the flash of annoyance at her blasé retort. "This implies that either Dougie is some crazy weird anomaly or his people have been hovering at the edge of an evolutionary precipice for nearly a billion years. I wonder if we Time Lords would have done the same without Rassilon's tinkering. Maybe that evolutionary divide isn't naturally crossable. I generally wouldn't believe such things, but there is so little difference between your physiology Dougie, and that of a modern and Time-gifted Lené, that it buggers belief!"

He's shaking his head in wonder as he fiddles with the computer a moment before his exclamation of, "A-ha!" has them gazing at the monitor again.

"I knew I had scan in here of one of your modern cousins. His name was Kirlan, and he was assigned to me for my run to the Medusa Cascade." The Doctor pauses a moment, remembering Kirlan. He'd been a bright cheerful lad, full of dreams and great deeds. He'd volunteered like all the rest, but he was too young to really understand what might be coming. Only 1 in a 100 of the Lené volunteers ever went home alive. He didn't care. He was excited to do his part, and he'd be brilliant at it."

He'd been very adept. It was what earned him the place so early in his life. His talents almost  _tasted_  like those of the Time Lords that helped train him. How he had been assigned to the Doctor's mission still confused him. Maybe Romana had something to do with it. It was just before Rassilon was resurrected; otherwise Kirlan may have ended up on the business end of the Rani, so Rassilon could find out why he was so different, and make more like him. Luckily, he'd only died…too young, and with all his dreams in smoke.

Shaking himself clear of the memory, he glances back up at Rose and Dougie, the light a little dimmed in his eyes, but still grinning like a mad man. "Kirlan was a good lad and did his duty, but when he boarded, the first thing we did was run a scan—standard procedure for the archive. And here we go!"

As the picture comes up between the other two, the marked similarities are even more striking. To Rose there is no difference between the Doctor's and Kirlan's… "This bit here is just a little larger in your brain Doctor, but otherwise they're identical. And Dougie's has that piece as well, but it's much smaller. Is that the tertiary hippopotamus you were talking about when I came in?" Rose asks peering closely at the multicoloured projection in front of her.

"Hippocampus and yes, exactly! As I was saying, that organ is what accounts for our Time sense. Without it we would be unable to see Timelines, manipulate Time, or pilot a TARDIS, among other things. That little bit of spongy matter working in concert with all the other specialised lobes is what pushes us into the other dimensions we can perceive," the Doctor explains. "The fascinating part is the fact that in the Lené, and then Tanu brain, it has lain there for nearly a billion years and done next to nothing. It remained the same. Kirlan  _was_  a known anomaly. I would love to have a scan of a Firvulag's brain, and more of the Lené…" he trails off pacing, obviously deep in thought.

"Doctor, I hate to interrupt, but we're leaving. Right?" Rose asks with a knowing smirk. She's already asked Darling to move all the information and printouts to the study so he can pour over his theories in alien evolution there.

"Yes! Right…leaving! Blimey! One spot for nearly 48 hours and by choice! What is the Universe coming to? We should pick someplace fun…past or future Rose Tyler? What's your flavour today?" He asks her as he sweeps her up in a close hug and twirls them around; his focus changing instantly, but with just as much enthusiasm. Setting her back to her feet he grabs her hand and bodily pulls her to the Console room.

"Well, I actually told Donna and Jack to pick, if that's okay." Rose says breathlessly as she's dragged through the hall.

"Brilliant! Alright you lot, what's the decision?" the Doctor asks as all three of them tumble into the Console room, much to Donna and Jack's amusement.

"Future!" Donna and Jack say in unison. Rose notices they are both a bit flushed and she wonders what they've been up to while she was being wowed with grey matter?

The Doctor and Rose stand poised a moment not moving, as what appears to be an internal conversation takes place. Donna is just about to point out how rude that is, when they glance at each other and blurt out, "Applegrass!"

Racing to their places at the Console, the Doctor gives Dougie a quick lesson as Rose reminds Jack and Donna of their jobs. With a flourish the Doctor flips the dematerialisation lever, and at the top of his lungs yells, "Allons-y!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Super busy weekend, so here's two in a row. Thanks so much for still reading and enjoying the story. :-)


	8. You Always Have  Choice

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> New Earth isn't how they remember it.

**You Always Have a Choice**

As Rose kneels on the floor surrounded by skeletons, the strange Bliss patch between her fingers, she decides that this is definitely  _not_  how she'd imagined her day going.

It started out well enough with the decision to go to New Earth, but that is where all semblance of good ended. The obnoxiously sad mood vendors, Donna being snatched at gunpoint, Jack racing after her assailants, and then finding the TARDIS gone. Yep, the day had definitely gone more than a little pear-shaped.

Rose had been describing to Jack and Donna how she was looking forward to visiting the city of New New York this time around. She and the Doctor told them all about their last adventure there with Cassandra, the last human…-snort- But they had spent that entire time in the Hospital, and most of that Rose had only been partially aware of. She and the Doctor were both excited at the prospect of some real exploration.

Finding themselves in the murky wet, underneath of the city, in such filthy confined alleyways was disheartening and not the best of starts for their explorations. Donna was not amused at being brought to the slums after Rose had described all the lovely spires, air cars, and apple grass. Then out of nowhere, a young couple with a gun grabbed Donna and while putting up a fight, they still dragged her away.

Jack had taken off after them without any preamble, determined to save her. Rose, the Doctor, and Dougie had raced after him only to see him get into a car with a Catkind the moment they caught up to him. Jack waved them off, saying he would follow Donna. They had then run back to the TARDIS in an attempt to trace her whereabouts, hoping that they could contact Jack somehow when they had any information. Luckily, Dougie informed them on the way that he should be able to communicate with Jack from a distance since he was mildly telepathic, but only in short bursts. Finding a com system that did more than just repeat the weather at you would help a lot and be much easier.

Rounding the corner where the TARDIS had been parked was a shock—She was gone. There was no sign that She'd been dragged off or removed. Agitatedly pulling out his sonic, the Doctor was able to tell them that She was a kilometre that way, pointing to the East…and some 30 stories up. That was inconvenient, to say the least. They would just have to find some help.

Unfortunately, there was no help to find. All of the people they met said the walkways and passages to the under-city had been sealed off. No one had seen the over-city in 25 years. It had then taken them hours to work their way through the buildings toward the TARDIS. Finally, they were able to locate a door they could open.

During the trek through the under-city they were able to check in with Jack a few times, as he told them he was making his way down through the layers of traffic following Donna. She'd apparently only been taken so that the car would have more passengers and be slotted for a faster commute. But according to the people Jack met, the people stuck in the tunnels were taking years to go a mile. One couple had been driving for 25 years and were still waiting for something to change! He mentioned a news caster, Sally Calypso, that supposedly gave them weather and traffic updates, but it was always variations of the same story. They had to find her or at least the interface, the Doctor was certain she was a hologram.

It was lucky for them that they had Dougie along. The Sonic was useless on wood or stone, but Dougie's telekinesis could turn a lock just fine. It was slow going, but eventually they made it to the Senate, where they had determined the TARDIS must be. They still didn't know how She'd gotten there. Maybe there was some sort of automated system against unauthorised landings. The Doctor said there had been a similar thing on Gallifrey. It was the only available theory and they were working with it.

Now, still in the Senate, Dougie and the Doctor were working on the door that appeared to lead to the main control room of the cities' utilities. It was proving difficult as it had several layers of security, some physical, some electronic, and all of them not working. They could hear the faint buzz of power coming from that part of the building, so Rose knew eventually they would get in.

Standing, she gazes at the bodies of the senators around her, and wonders what happened. This was obviously another mood patch, but what did Bliss do…constant orgasms maybe? That would probably be a bit distracting, but shouldn't be deadly. She's about to walk over to the Doctor to ask him about it, when she hears a snatch of song.

Looking around, she tries to tell where it came from. Walking toward a window, she hears it again and stops, realising she's hearing it in her mind. It sounds a bit like the TARDIS, but definitely different. It's almost familiar, but she can't seem to place it. Turning to move back toward the Doctor, now worried, Rose is rooted into place a third time as the music now has a voice, and the voice just called out, "Roooosie."

* * *

"Come on, come on!" Jack is muttering to himself as he tears apart the communications system of the dapper fellow's car he has finally stopped in. It's in the bottom tier of standard traffic, just above the fast lane.

The man had nearly wet himself earlier when Jack miraculously popped through his ceiling. It had been nearly 5 years since he'd seen another human, and he was glad the fellow only asked for water. At least he had that to offer. After several apologies, and an explanation from Jack, he'd graciously offered to help anyway he could.

Jack was thankful for the water. All the hopping from car to car had started to do a number on his throat and lungs from exposure to the exhaust. This fellow's reaction had been pretty similar to all the other car's inhabitants that he'd daisy-chained his way through. It would definitely be strange to have someone abruptly enter your car after years of virtual solitude. There'd been a couple of nutters, but for the most part everyone was nice, though surprised.

The periodic updates from Dougie were helpful, but they hadn't been able to get far yet, and he's still worried for Donna. He'd been able to trace her car's signal, but she had abruptly dropped off the power grid a few minutes before. He was currently acting on the Doctor's suggestion to see if he couldn't rewire the communications system to hack into the interface himself. Maybe he could trigger something; at least if he could get the exhaust fans working, that would help clear the murk in the tunnels and show him what the hell was done there. The strange noises and crashing was more than a little disconcerting.

After a few more moments, the burst went through the new wiring and successfully spun up the exhaust fans. As the murk cleared, Jack and the driver were given a much better view of the tunnel beneath them through the lower port of the car.

"What the hell are those?" the horrified driver squeaks out.

"Macra," Jack whispers, suddenly fearing the worst for Donna. "They used to be the scourge of the galaxy with an enormous empire built on human slaves."

"They don't look like empire-builders to me," the fellow replies disbelievingly. Jack understands his feelings. These giant crab things were nothing like the Macra he'd read about in school.

"Well, that was billions of years ago; they must have devolved. Now they're just vermin—really, really huge vermin." Turning to the man, Jack says with desperation, "I have to get down there. I have to save my friend!"

Looking down had terrified him for Donna's safety when he saw the lower level was infested. He only knew one thing at that moment—he could  ** _not_**  lose Donna.

"Down there? With those…things? Are you mad?"

* * *

"Oh my God!" Donna shrieks. "What the bloody hell are those things? Ventilation fans, my arse! What are you gonna do now…throw those poo patties at them?" Donna, Cheen, and Milo are being tossed around the little car as Milo tries to navigate the murk and the …whatever the hell those things are.

"Land! Turn everything off! We don't know why they're attracted to us, maybe they'll go away if we're quiet," Cheen suggests hanging on for dear life. She really doesn't want to vomit, but the tumbling is making her queezy in her newly pregnant state.

"Okay, Cheen, but we have to be powered up for the air to work," Milo says quietly. The guilt he feels over endangering not only this strange woman they grabbed, but his young family is weighing heavily on him. He tries to have hope in Donna's Doctor or Jack, but now that they've glimpsed what they're up against, he feels hopelessly out of his depth.

"How long will we have before we have to power up again?" Donna asks.

"About 8 minutes," Milo says, turning away from Donna and taking his wife's hand.

"Great. Come on…somebody…a rescue would be really nice about now," Donna mumbles out loud to herself. "They won't give up, you know. They'll come for me—they've saved me before. They'll come for me," she says again more quietly, trying hard to believe it.

Donna's righteous indignation had been non-stop up to this point, ever since the couple made the brazen mistake of kidnapping her. They had no idea what they were getting into when they'd grabbed this one. She had done nothing but harangue them the entire way. Cheen desperately wishes this stranger that Donna keeps talking about would come save them all and take her away! She's worried about the baby of course, and Milo, but Donna is driving her spare and the horrible creatures outside are starting to sound like an option.

Looking around herself, Donna has a sudden image of her Granddad pop into her head. "Oh, oh…my family doesn't even know I'm here. I could die and they'd never know," Donna says quietly, overcome by a sadness that she hadn't felt before, as she slumps down on the bed. Before, she was just angry. She couldn't believe she'd been kidnapped—by pregnant teenagers, no less! And she was likely to be stuck with them for years, and this seemed normal to these people! It was all a bit much for her first real alien adventure.

"What was that?" Milo asks her, not hearing her over the pounding of his own heart in his ears.

"I came out here with the Doctor and Rose," Donna explains. "My Grandad know's I'm travelin', but I didn't say goodbye to my mum or any of my friends. What have I done?" Donna gasps, feeling her eyes start to burn with unshed tears. She can't help the panic she's feeling as the enormity of being trapped and perhaps dying on an alien world would mean for her family. Would the Doctor and Rose go back and tell them? Would they forget her? What would her Grandad do? Oh God! She was so stupid!

"Donna, Donna, have faith. We'll figure something out. You said these friends of yours are brilliant, they'll save us. You said it yourself, they've saved you before," Cheen tries to comfort Donna. Seeing the woman finally break down makes her heart ache. She doesn't know what she was thinking before, but they are responsible for Donna, and there must be a way. Thinking back to the terrified screams of the woman who had tried to warn them, she really doesn't want to die the same way—screaming.

"Yeah, thanks, Cheen," she says, scrubbing the tears off her cheeks. The two women embrace as they both wish desperately for a solution.

"Well, ladies, we need to power up or suffocate here," Milo says as he starts flipping switches. Taking a deep breath, he tries to push his fears to the side; his family is depending on him—and Donna.

Donna takes up a position between them in solidarity. "Let's do this thing! If we can get high enough, we'll just wait for someone to find us!" she says with a forced smile. Taking both of Cheen's hands in hers, the two women yell and scream, hanging on for their lives, and try to remain brave as Milo does his best to pilot them away from the roiling mass of creatures determined to snack on them.

Just as they've somehow been bumped free of one of the monsters, the most glorious thing ever happens. The viewer suddenly switches on and instead of Sally Calypso and her ridiculous weather forecast and hymn, it's the Doctor.

"Sorry, no Sally Calypso, she was just a hologram. This is the Doctor and this is an order. Everyone, drive up…"

The Doctor is telling everyone to drive up as the roof that is so far away begins slamming open and the first light finally makes its way through 50 layers of traffic jam and filters through their windows. As Milo does a better job of dodging the claws of the creatures reaching for them, he begins looking for access above them.

"I knew it! I knew he'd save us. That's my spaceman!" Donna cries tearfully as she and Cheen gaze up at the far away sky and embrace.

* * *

Rose is now sprinting across the Senate toward the Doctor and Dougie when she sees a shadow drop done behind them.

"Doctor!" Rose yells.

Turning suddenly, sonic in hand, he stops. Beside him, Dougie stands as well, gazing at the person who has just dropped out of thin air.

"Doctor, you are a hard man to find, and Rose, he said you had come. You're almost too late."

As Rose reaches them, she can see it's one of the catkind. "Hello there, who are you? We haven't seen anyone in hours."

"Neither of you has aged a day. The years have not been so kind to me," the cat nun says shyly.

"Novice Hame!" the Doctor exclaims excitedly, leaping forward to give her an embrace which she returns, startled.

"Oh wait! Get off, then. What happened to you and what happened here? I have to save my friends. Why isn't there any power? And where's the Senate, the Duke of Manhattan?" he fires off questions, thinking back to what had happened before.

"As penance I served him and he protected me when everything happened, and you're in the Senate…those are all the Senators," she says, pointing at the corpses.

"But Novice Hame, what happened?" Rose asks.

"It was a new chemical. They called it Bliss. It was so popular they just kept using it and a virus mutated from it. It spread through the entire over-city. It killed New New York in 7 minutes; including the virus itself in the end. The final act of the Senate was to seal the under-city, saving as many as possible." They can see the grief on Novice Hame's face as she relates the horrific tale.

"But who saved you Novice Hame?" Dougie asked.

 _-Rooooosie-_ Rose hears again in her mind. Suddenly, everything Novice Hame has said and how she's felt and what she's heard clicks—Jack or more to the point…the Face of Boe.

"Boe! The Face of Boe is here and he saved you!" Rose cries.

"Yes, and he is dying. You must come Doctor," the cat says, taking his arm.

"I  _must_  save my friends; Boe can wait," the Doctor argues, glancing at Rose, wondering how she'd figured out it was the Face of Boe.

"No, Doctor, neither he nor your friends can wait!" Pulling back her sleeve, she presses a teleport.

"No, no, no,!" he's saying as he jumps from one side of the door to the other.

"Now you've separated me from everyone. You will take me back to Rose," he says through gritted teeth.

"I cannot, there was only enough power for one jump," Novice Hame says sadly.

Looking around, he spies his TARDIS near the Face of Boe's tank. "Oi! There you are, you daft box!" he says as he walks up and pats Her side.

_/Doc-toor, I knew you'd come. I am failing. She came to me when She heard me singing/_

"What?" he asks, but gets distracted by Novice Hame's explanation.

"He wired himself into the mainframes to save them Doctor—to save everyone. He saved me with his smoke, but now he is dying. He has been using his life force to power the under-city when the utilities failed," Novice Hame tries to explain.

As Novice Hame is explaining, the Doctor has wandered back to the door and begins fiddling with the opening mechanism. "Why didn't you just call for help? Surely the Shadow Proclamation would have sent aid," he says with his back still turned to Novice Hame. Pulling out his sonic, he points it at the panel he's just rewired and after a brief sparking, it opens. Rose and Dougie rush in. Seeing the Doctor and Novice Hame are alright, they immediately move to the Face of Boe's tank.

"The final act was to place the entire planet in quarantine—a quarantine that lasts 100 years, Doctor," Novice Hame explains sadly.

"But you stayed, after everyone had died? You stayed here…waiting," the Doctor says to Novice Hame, turning back to her with an intense expression.

"We had no choice," Novice Hame cries out.

"Yes, you did, you had a choice," the Doctor states quietly with admiration. Realising what he means, Novice Hame actually blushes and looks away, not knowing how to receive the praise.

 _-Jack, is that really you in there?-_ Rose asks him telepathically when she reaches his tank.

_-Hi, Rosie…it's me, well part of me. I'm sorry I couldn't tell you who I was the first time you saw me, but we hadn't actually met yet. You were so young. And the Doctor, has no idea does he?-_

_-Well, he should have my memories, but he hasn't paid attention to all of them_ \- she mentally smirks at him.

_-I bet you never thought you'd be his wife back on Platform One-_

_-Or species! That was our first date, you know, the death of my sun and planet…rubbish date, but I guess it all worked out in the end, didn't it? Has it really been so long, Jack? Billions of years? How?-_

_-Your adapter worked, but it began changing me. It was worth it, trust me. Everything you have ever done for me, Rose, has been worth it. I wouldn't change a second…though there has been a lot of them-_  his mental voice is getting weaker.

Dougie comes up beside Rose, placing his hands flat against the glass, feeling her communicate with the creature in the tank. Looking deep into the large, beautiful eyes, Dougie feels recognition, and after a startling moment realises he's staring into the timeless eyes of Jack Harkness.

 _{Jack, my friend! I feel we do not have time for you to tell me how, but I can help you. Will you let me?}_ Dougie sends to him mentally.

_{Dougie, I have missed your gentle soul. Yes, there is more for me to do before I go, please}_

Closing his eyes and concentrating, Dougie slides into Jack/Boe's mind and strengthens some of the failing connections as well as giving him a mental shoulder to lean on as they pour themselves into the power grid.

Turning from Novice Hame, the Doctor sees that Dougie and Rose are with Boe and he appears to be seaking to them telepathically.

 _/Hopefully they can make him more comfortable, because I have to get the power up and running_ ,/ he thinks to himself.

"Okay, let's see…We need to move this here and connect all these to this board…," he starts thinking out loud as he's ripping wires from one area and connecting them to another, pulling open service panels and discarding what he doesn't need.

"What are you doing, Doctor?" Novice Hame asks.

"Power, we need power," he replies distractedly.

Looking over at the Face of Boe and seeing how much weaker he looks, she turns back to the Doctor. "But what are you going to do?" she asks desperately.

"This!" he says grandly, throwing a large lever. There is the sound of things trying to work and then nothing as the power sputters out.

"Damn! We have the power, but we need the people. They'll make the power!" He turns, trying to figure out where to start as Boe and Dougie both groan.

 _/I give you my last/_  Boe projects as the boards and mainframes light up at full power.

Rose rushes to the Doctor's side, and they work to start opening the motorway roof. Hearing the large doors begin slamming open they grin at each other in triumph. The Doctor moves to the communications array as Rose tries to stabilise the power coming in from Dougie and Jack.

 _-Just a little longer, Jack…you can do it!_ \- she tells him.

Rose can see what efforts Jack/Boe and Dougie are going through to keep what little power they have alive long enough to get everyone out. Behind her, the Doctor is sending a new projection through the news feed.

"…I've opened the roof of the Motorway. Come on! Throttle those engines and drive up!…"

* * *

Jack and the dapper man are startled by the remaining view screen as the Doctor takes Sally Calypso's place and starts giving instructions and encouragement to all the drivers.

"Yea! I knew he'd do it!" Jack yells in delight, punching the air.

"He's a magician," the younger man says quietly as he stares at the sunshine filtering through the exhaust and distance. / _Sunlight/_ , he thinks, barely remembering what it looked like as a boy. Noticing the controls of his car are now free, he starts to move them up and away from the massive creatures below them.

"What? Wait! What are you doing? My friend is still down there! We have to save her!" Jack yells at him, and tries to take the wheel. The younger man is about to tell him off when they hear the Doctor call his and Donna's name.

"Oi! Car 465*6! Donna! Drive up! You've got access above, now go! Jack! Donna's safe. I see her car heading up. They're alive! Get to the Senate; meet us here. I've sent her car the coordinates. That's where we are, and we'll see you here. Over and out." The screen goes blank.

"May I please have a lift to the Senate?" Jack asks politely; chagrined at his earlier behaviour. This good-looking young man has been nothing but helpful after all.

"Mate, you can have a ride to the Moon! Allons-y!" the dapper little fellow yells as he excitedly starts piloting them up toward the sky.

"Wait…what did you say?"

* * *

"…Donna! Drive up! You've got access above, now go!…"

"That your friend, the Doctor?" Cheen asks in amazement, pointing at the screen as Milo pilots them out and up through the ranks of traffic.

"Yeah," Donna says, near speechless at the glorious site of the sky and freedom.

"He's a bit fine," Cheen says with a smile. "Are you and he…?"

"What?" Donna splutters, coming back to herself, indignant at the implications. "That skinny bit of nothin? Absolutely not! We're just mates."

"Ladies, we have coordinates. We're on our way out toward the sky!" Milo says with growing excitement.

Reaching over to take her husband's hand, Cheen smiles through her tears at their luck. "The real sky," she says in wonder as all three of them gaze at the gorgeous sight above them.

* * *

"Thank you… I don't even know your name—I've been such an ass! Thank you so much for all your help, and I apologise for the radio," Jack says sheepishly, shaking the young man's hand after he disembarks on the landing platform of the Senate.

"Bernerd Crumb, and you're welcome. Quite the day, eh? Good luck, mate." Tipping his bowler at Jack politely, Bernerd closes his door and speeds off toward the sunset.

Jack has just turned to look back at the motorway, when another car pulls up to the platform.

With a squeak from all the car's occupants as the door is nearly pulled from its slide in its haste to be opened, Cheen and Milo see a large, well built man reach in and grab Donna.

Startled, Donna doesn't even protest as Jack snatches her out of the car bodily, wrapping himself around her, and snogging her into complete speechlessness.

Cheen and Milo grin at each other as they quietly close the door and drive off from the oblivious couple.

Reality comes for both of them as they need to come up for oxygen. Batting him weakly on the shoulder, Donna sort of demands he put her down.

"Oi, Jack!" she starts breathlessly. "Umm…glad to see you, too."

"Sorry!" he apologises, as he sets her back down. "I'm sorry about today, Donna. I was so worried! I tried everything to reach you!"

"You had better not be apologising for snoggin' me. Because if you are, I'm going to fling you off this balcony, you pillock!" she yells at him, bristling.

"No! Of course, not. I've been wanting to kiss you since I first spotted that fantastic arse of yours, Donna Noble," he replies, smirking at her blush.

"What is it with you blokes and arses? I oughta…wait, really? You've fancied me since we met? That was…like 3 days ago!" she says disbelievingly.

"Unlike some people we know, I don't need a year to know a good woman when I meet one," Jack says smiling, still holding her by the shoulders.

"We haven't even been on a proper date yet…that is if you future space types still date," Donna gets out, still a bit breathless and covering the fluttering of her insides with teasing.

"Donna Noble, would you like to go to dinner and a movie with me sometime?" Jack asks her, a little nervous about her response.

"Yes, Jack Harness, I will. And you can kiss me again…" Jack doesn't need to be told twice.

* * *

Rose is running to the landing platform to meet Donna and Jack. She's very excited that they're both safe. She'd been so worried. Losing Jack/Boe though is going to be hard, especially with him also standing there perfectly healthy with just a few billion years between them. Jack/Boe had told her younger him couldn't know, and there could be no touching while he was still alive. Apparently there was still enough biological similarity that it could potentially be dangerous for the younger still very human man.

Rounding the corner to the outside, Rose skids to a stop, open-mouthed at the sight of Jack snogging Donna like their lives depend on it. She must have unintentionally made a noise, because Jack opens his eyes and gazing past Donna's ear, grins at Rose mid-kiss.

Stiffening at his reaction, Donna  _knows_  someone just showed up. "Please tell me that isn't the Doctor?" she whispers to Jack.

"Nah, it's Rose," he whispers back, pulling a piece of hair out of her eyes and tucking it behind her ear, gazing at her intensely a moment. Looking back up, he grins again and waves Rose over.

"Donna! Oh my God! We had no idea what had happened! We're so glad you're safe," Rose says wrapping her in a reassuring hug. Both women hang on to each other a moment before they step back a little tearfully. "I see some of us are even happier," she teases Jack before being picked up in a bone cracking hug from him as well.

"We need to get inside," Rose says once she's back on her feet and as she starts leading them back into the building at a jog.

"What's the rush?" Jack asks.

"The Face of Boe is dying," she replies solemnly.

"The what of who?" Donna asks, obviously confused.

"The Face of Boe. God, Rose he's rumoured to be millions of years old!"

"Ya, well now he's billions of years old, and he has kept these people alive for the past 25 years with his live force alone. He saved you, more than we did. Dougie is with him now, trying to keep him alive a bit longer to make sure everyone gets out, but we have to hurry."

They reach the control room just as Boe's tank cracks and the glass splinters away from him.

"Doctor!" Novice Hame cries.

"What the hell is  _that_?" Donna blurts out.

"Hi, Donna, been a while!" the Doctor greets her. "This is the Face of Boe, and that's Novice Hame; she's a cat. Now be nice and come say hello," the Doctor says with a sad smile on his face, but obvious relief in his voice at seeing Donna safe.

 _-Oh, Rose! Donna! Oh, she's so young. I had forgotten, so long ago, my fiery Donna-_  he says privately to Rose.

 _-Ya, you just snogged the life back into her,-_  she thinks with a sad smirk.

 _-Yes, I remember this now-_ the sad smile obvious in his mental tone

 _/It is good to breath the air again/_  he projects so everyone can hear him.

"Oh, don't say that. There's plenty of time left for your big 'ol face," the Doctor says, trying to sound teasing.

_/Everything dies in its Time. You know that better than most, my old friend. I am ready to go. It has been so long, and I am the last of my kind, as you once were,/_

"That's why we're here, to survive—the both of us….Don't go," the Doctor beseeches, reaching out to touch a tentacle.

 _/I must, but know this Time Lord,/_  he says. Gathering himself for one last effort, he looks the Doctor directly in the eye as he says, _/ You are not alone/_  The Doctor's face goes blank in disbelief and wonder as his mind is suddenly overwhelmed by the implications in that one simple statement.

 _/Look for your people, Doctor, but Gallifrey is not yet yours to find,/_  Boe tells him. Looking over the Doctor's shoulder and into Rose's eyes, his last words are for her alone,  _-Rose, this movement will end, but remember, the symphony still goes on-_

Sighing out his last breath, Jack's final sight is of his dearest friends…and he knows, it was all worth it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Guess what? I don't own DW...-sigh- ...but I did borrow some dialog from Gridlock. :-)


	9. Hath not in Nature's Mystery More Science?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A trip to the past gets very interesting when Dougie goes off on his own.

**Hath not in Nature's Mystery More Science?**

Never one to stick around for the clean up, The Doctor leaves a grieving, but determined Novice Hame in charge of New Earth's recovery. With many assurances and protestations of busy-ness, they are finally able to escape into the TARDIS—not soon enough; as far as the Doctor is concerned.

He heads into the TARDIS first as the others take their turns saying farewell.

Losing a friend is always hard and he can't really call the Face of Boe a friend. Sure, he'd felt some kinship in the seeming longevity and telepathic similarities; but other than being a half-mentioned legend for a  _very, very_  long time…he'd only ever interacted with him, what… 3 times?

This last was certainly the kicker, though. Not only had he actually died this time, but just prior to it, he had given the Doctor the best, and maybe also the worst news of his past century and more.

 _/I'm not alone…I should find my people,/_ he turns over and over in his mind.

The Face of Boe's final words, "Gallifrey is not yet yours to find"has the Doctor thoroughly confused. Where is he to find his people if not on his lost planet that now  _three_  impossible entities have teased him with existing? It's not like he didn't look. He'd looked for years and years after he'd awoken in a new body—all blue eyes and fierce attitude. Oh, he'd searched, but of course, he'd also been so grief stricken with what he'd thought he'd done, it wasn't like he went  _everywhere_. There are billions of inhabited systems in the wide universe, and he'd touched…maybe a few hundred.

The Face of Boe was billions of years old…he'd known things… _always_  known things. He'd known that the Doctor wasn't alone back so long ago—even on Satellite 5. He was so raw back then…so nearly overcome by the need to feel something—anything! It was Rose's first trip; all of Time and Space, he'd said. Then he'd gone manic and started showing off. He knew exactly where to take her. She wanted to know what it was like traveling with an alien…fine; he'd show her. How about what it's like traveling with the last of a kind, and here little girl, this is your planet…blowing up, just like I remember mine doing. Only I didn't make this happen, but I made it happen for you—are we having fun yet?

 _/God, what a bastard; I can't believe Rose put up with me after that,/_  the Doctor thinks to himself, not for the first or probably the last time. Scrubbing his face with his hands, he pulls himself out of his thoughts as the others start filing into the TARDIS behind him.

Rose is the last through the doors and is closing them behind everyone as Jack finally can't keep his thoughts repressed any longer.

"I wonder why he called himself the Face of Boe? I haven't run across mention of his people before. Do you know, Doctor?" Jack asks.

"Do I know what? I  _know_  lots of things," the Doctor says flippantly in return, as he starts fiddling with the switches and levers on the console, beginning the dematerialisation process.

"Yeah, I  _know_  that, genius. I mean where the Boekind originated. It's just weird, ya know, because of where I grew up," Jack continues to muse.

"Err…well, I guess I don't know. Where did you grow up, Jack?" The Doctor's face is a bit pinched as the TARDIS is being a little tetchy, so he isn't giving Jack his full attention.

"Oh, I figured Rose would have told you…" Jack begins, glancing at Rose who shrugs at him in reply. Inside, she's desperately trying to keep a straight face and not to give anything away.

 _-You. Expressionless, right now, and make something up!-_  Rose shoots frantically to the Doctor through their link.

"See, I grew up on the Boeshane Peninsula…which I am sure you know…"

 _-What?-_ the Doctor asks in confused reply. He has stilled at the Console from the urgency in her tone.

"…is completely in the middle of nothing interesting at all, but the Time Agency came recruiting when I was a teenager."

 _-Jack! Our Jack will be the_ ** _FACE OF BOE_** _!-_ Rose yells at him, trying to get him to understand ASAP.

"And see, I got picked. Of all the kids in my group, it was me! They called me the Face of Boe."

 _-Shut._ ** _UP_** _! You are not saying that Jack…our Jack…well, future Jack, but still our Jack, is…-_ the Doctor is incredulous, but with a dawning sense of wonder and just a touch of…ewww.

"They even used my image on the recruiting posters. It was really something, but see that's what confuses me about the Face of Boe being called, well…the Face of Boe; see?" Jack finishes with a look of pride still tinged with a touch of confusion.

 _-Stop that! Donna can't know, and neither can he! Hello? Timelines! We'll talk later, but please…_ ** _please_** _, make something up, lie whatever…just_ ** _DO IT_** _!-_  His wife's mental shriek nearly makes him wince, reminding him of her mother, but he's had plenty of practise at not showing what he's feeling, and he was just told "by his wife" to lie. He'll enjoy pointing that out later.

"Really? Err…Face Of Boe…yes, well of course you were, handsome boy like yourself. I'm sure you were on loads of posters. Imagine, Donna—Jack on posters. Can you picture all the teenage girls with Jack on their bedroom walls…"

"Doctor!" Rose spits out in an attempt to derail that line of reasoning, rolling her eyes at Donna.

"Right…errr..Boekind…ummm…no idea really, but I'll look into it," he says. Flipping the last lever and with the usual lurch, they are finally away. "Someplace with low gravity I would think, and maybe…ummmm tropical, ya I bet it was like a rain forest or something inhabited by tentacle…face…floaty…creatures. Yup, I bet that's it. Well, we're in the Vortex, and Rose and I need to go do some…chart starring….star charting! Or something…soooo you lot, off you go…toddle on. We'll see you later," he finishes, with a significant look in Rose's direction.

Everyone but Rose and Dougie are staring at the Doctor as if he's suddenly sprouted a second head. Rose just rolls her eyes again, and weaving through the other three, she takes the Doctor's hand as he starts pulling her out of the room.

"Don't wait up!" Rose calls as cheerfully and as casually as possible. With a wave, they're both gone.

* * *

"Barking mad, the both of them!" Donna says as she makes tea for herself and the boys. Dougie, Jack, and Donna have shifted to the kitchen after the bazaar experience in the Console room. They wouldn't be up long. All three of them kept yawning, but neither of them actually felt like going to bed yet. So, in attempt at a little normalcy, Donna suggested a cup of tea before bed.

"Yeah, the Doctor was definitely acting weirder than usual," Jack responds, still wanting answers about the Face of Boe, but willing to wait. Maybe he can find something in the library.

"Really?" Dougie asks, sipping his tea. "This didn't seem so different to me, but you have known him longer. I am sure his behaviour is related to just being informed that more of his people survive and only wait to be found. Compounded by the death of a long-time friend—his feelings are at odds. I am sure he will be fine," Dougie finishes with a sad smile of his own.

"Can you imagine more like Spaceman and Wolfgirl? I wonder if all of them have names like  _the Doctor_?" Donna muses, purposefully trying to lighten the mood. "Maybe, the Janitor, the Nurse, or how about the Solicitor…there's a good one."

Dougie has a crease in his forehead as he tries to follow their antics; he doesn't quite get why it's funny, but then some of his people had chosen their own names on their Naming Day, or earned them with grand deeds. The childlike delight his two friends are indulging in makes him feel warm and included, though.

"The Cowboy, the Outlaw…Ha! How about the Desperado?" Jack adds, laughing.

"You Americans and your cowboys, there must be something wrong with you," Donna teases him.

" _I'll be your cowboy/ if you'll be my cowgirl,_ " Jack sings at her, a mile-wide grin on his face.

"No chance, Sunshine. You owe me a proper date first. This Earthgirl ain't easy, 'member?" Donna quips in reply, sipping her tea through a grin.

Stifling a chuckle at their awkward little mating ritual, Dougie stands to leave. "My friends, it is late and this day has been…very full. I will retire, and look forward to seeing you in the morning."

"Good night!"

"'Night, Dougie."

As he makes his way down the hall, he smiles at the continued teasing flirtation going on behind him. He'd almost felt himself getting light-headed from all the pheromones in the air.

As he walks along, musing on the day's many moments, he's still most amazed at the Face of Boe and recognising him as Jack. Dougie wonders what could possibly happen to give him such longevity, but so alter his form. Rose knows, and he hopes he'll have an opportunity to ask her about it. He certainly understood that Jack couldn't know of his own fate, not yet at least.

He has just reached his door, when he feels like someone is watching him. Turning around, he thinks he sees Romana go around the next corner. Calling her name softly, he walks to the next hall, but the smile slides from his face as he realises he's alone.

Assuming the day was just more taxing than he'd realised, Dougie turns back and continues to his room. After washing up, there is nothing in the entire Universe he longs for more than his bed.

* * *

The next morning sees a return to the normal teasing and vaguely flirtatious happiness that is the dynamic aboard the TARDIS. Jack flirts with everyone, Rose flirts with the Doctor, Donna flirts with Jack, and Dougie flirts with the TARDIS—it is completely mad and they all love it.

Standing around the Console, the Doctor decides that the past sounds like fun for the day, but decides to spice it up with a bit of random added in.

"Now you add in the random? I figured most of it was random, although your random seems to include an awful lot of Earth, you know," Rose says playfully from her station next to the Doctor.

"Weeell, I am rather fond of the planet, but you lot do seem to get into an inordinate amount of trouble, so lets see what we find today. Maybe it will be a relaxed and easy day on the third moon of Kylar," he says cheerfully. All four other people stare at him a moment, before bursting out onto gales of laughter. Dougie is the newest member, and he can already tell that the Doctor is a trouble magnet if there ever was one.

"Oi! I do not go looking for trouble. There! We've landed. Who'd like to have the honours this time?" he says with a flourish.

Dougie is closest to the doors and strides down the ramp to peer out at where they've landed. Gathering behind him, they're all assaulted with the smells of refuse and the myriad bellows of animals and people alike.

Filing out of the TARDIS, the Doctor takes one look around and knows exactly where they are, but there's a slight itching in the back of his mind—like he's missing something. It isn't insistent enough to distract him though as Rose and the others begin exclaiming at the sights around them.

Dougie leaves the TARDIS last, assuming his shorter McPherson persona to be amongst these simpler people. As he closes the door behind him, he pauses a moment…was that music? He thought he heard the ghost of a melody for a second. Perhaps it came from one of the houses.

"Oi! Watch the edges of the lane," the Doctor calls back to Jack and Donna as a window above them is opened and a slop bucket emptied following a garbled, "Gardeeloo!"

"Yuck! Where did you slap us this time, Spaceman—Medieval England?" Donna snarls out, stepping gingerly around the dung and worse in the road.

"Elizabethan, actually," the Doctor replies, looking around at the close walls of the buildings around them.

"It's still Earth," Donna snarks.

"Weell, yes. It is still Earth, but it's Elizabethan England! Golden Age, won the Armada battle, poetry, plays…Plays! Follow me!" he says excitedly, turning down a different alley. "By the buildings and whatnot, it's got to be 1599; and Donna, Elizabethan London isn't as different from 21st Century London as you might think."

"I  _think_  there's a lot less of… **this**  in the streets," she grouses, trying to ignore the filth.

"Oh, I know exactly where we are! Come on, this way!" The Doctor grabs Rose's hand and starts running down the street.

Following him, they round a corner and there it is—The Globe Theatre. It has obviously not been finished long as all the timbers are still solid and the stucco is clean—it is magnificent. The Doctor is giving them the expected history lesson as well as some interesting particulars about its size and shape and of course, the Bard himself—William Shakespeare—who, it looks like, is in the house tonight.

Seeing the crowd and assuming a show is on, the Doctor digs around in his substantial pockets before handing out small coins to the group as they queue up to see the show that appears about to start… _Love's Labour's Lost._ Their timing is perfect, as is the show.

As they leave, discussing the similarities and differences to modern productions, and the merits of either, Dougie touches the Doctor's shoulder and pulls him aside.

While enjoying the show, Dougie continued to find himself distracted. He kept feeling like he was hearing snatches of song, and not just any song, but  _the_  Song—the Song that wove itself through the telepathic consciousness of  _his_   _people_. He knows the Doctor will understand. He's sure the Time Lords had their own Song, but he doesn't want to explain himself until he knows for sure what he's hearing.

"Doctor, may I have a word please?" Dougie asks politely as the others continue past.

"Of course, Dougie. What's up?" the Doctor asks, eyebrows raised in question. The itching in his mind is getting a little more insistent. He ignores it for now so he can focus on Dougie. There will be time to explore what's going on soon.

"Will we be here long, do you think, Doctor?"

"Well, I would guess at least till this time tomorrow. See some sights, check for alien tech—the usual. Why, fancy having a look around on your own?"

"I do actually. Is that alright?" Dougie asks. The Doctor notices the tenseness in his posture and assumes it is because Dougie thinks the Doctor would refuse. Quickly wanting to set that notion straight, the Doctor jumps to correct it.

"Absolutely! You aren't a prisoner. If you aren't back when we're ready to leave, I'll contact you. Sound good?" he says reassuringly, tapping the side of his skull. He doesn't want Dougie to think he'd abandon him in Elizabethan England of all places.

"Perfect. Thank you, Doctor," he replies with a satisfied and eager smile.

Without a second glance, Dougie turns and heads purposefully toward the West. The Doctor can sense some sort of unease from him that tempers the eagerness, but he doesn't want to intrude. He's still watching the small man's shape recede as he feels Rose come up beside him and take his hand, squeezing reassuringly.

"What was that about?" she asks, watching Dougie's retreating form get lost in the shadows.

"No idea, maybe he just needs some space for a day," he muses. Shrugging, he turns back to Rose, grin in place. "So Rose Tyler, fancy a…"

The scream and Donna hollering, "Doc-tor!" sends them both running in that direction.

"Now that's more like it!" he says with an indecent grin.

Laughing, hand in hand, they race toward Donna's calls.

* * *

Dougie can almost hear the singers now, as opposed to just sensing the melody. The Song still seems far away, but he knows it isn't. He's been walking for hours, and he knows he's almost on top of whatever is making the Song—it is so achingly familiar, though also different.

Once he was out of sight of the town that would someday be the metropolis of London, he'd taken back his own shape, at which point he'd sensed the Song more strongly. Better able to 'hear' it, he'd begun following the strains further West.

He almost felt like he was being called—as if the Song was being sung only for him. At times he would get lost in its strains as he walked along, buoyed by the music to the exclusion of his surroundings. Then he would wake out of it suddenly; perhaps he'd stumbled on a rock, but he would notice that he appeared to be much further along the path, without a corresponding passage of time. If this strange method of travel was getting him to the source of the Song more quickly, then so be it—he would try to stumble less.

Topping the final rise, he turns to look at the Moon and back through the distance that hides early London from his sight, just as an enormous beam of light or energy (power of some kind) shoots into the sky. Behind him, there is a rumble like thunder. Turning around, he looks down into a hollow, flat plain filled with standing stones. It is from here that the Song is coming, and seeing a hole slowly open in the ground at the foot of one of the plinths tells him where the rumbling is coming from, too.

Dougie is torn between wanting to investigate the Song and watching the sky above London. / _That must have something to do with the Doctor_ / he thinks to himself.

Taking one last look at the sky, he senses a nearly inaudible shriek of pain and frustration. Then, the tower of light and power vanishes back down into the city. Assuming that it's for the best, he turns back to the alluring sound of music issuing from the hill. The Song is much stronger now that the hole is opened. Stepping to its edge, he sees there is a stone staircase leading down. The tendrils of Song are so palpable he can almost see them in the air, writhing around the edges of the entry. Dougie takes a moment to whisper a silent prayer to Tana that he isn't making an incredibly stupid mistake. Then he sets his foot on the first of many steps leading down.


	10. How Now Spirit?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Dougie may get more than he bargained for on his own little adventure.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A bitty Celtic pronunciation guide for some of the words I've used.  
> Sidhe = she  
> Tír na nÓg = tear nah noge  
> Dian Cécht = dye-in ket  
> Fear Síorghlas = far sheer-ghlahss  
> Samhain = sah-win

**10 How Now Spirit?**

The strength of the Song increased tenfold upon entering the stairwell. Descending the steps cut into the stone is akin to walking into the middle of a rock concert for Dougie's poor echoing mind, unused as he is to the remembered cacophony of living amongst his own kind. He scrambles to raise nearly forgotten shields between his consciousness and the living Song below him, still unsure as to its source.

Several minutes later, as he continues descending the steps, he appears to get no closer to the brightness below. Stopping, he closes his eyes and feels along with his mind instead. Long disused skills are coming back slowly, and the inside of his brain feels a bit tender from the intensity of the Song; but as he slides his awareness forward, he realises he's in a circular room and he's been walking around it—a simple illusion.

It must be a safeguard, he thinks. A small trickle of fear shivers along his nerves as he remembers illusions once being used as weapons. He is still millions of years beyond those times, and with a shake of his head at his silliness, finds the next hallway and continues down a new staircase. He does this routine twice more before he finally reaches the bottom of the passageway and the source of the Song. Peering around the last corner, he sees a room—filled with people.

A long room, lit with the cool light of crystal torches. In the centre is an enormous table set for a feast, and sitting around it, are a company of people like and unlike his own Tanu. They are tall and slender in their true forms, similar to himself, but their features are almost catlike with tilted eyes and pointed ears. They almost seem to glow from within. They are stunningly bright and beautiful, clothed in flowing gowns of diaphanous fabrics in shades of either pastels or darker earth tones.

At the head of the table are the obvious Lord and Lady of the gathering, seated upon a dais slightly above the rest. They are two of the most beautiful beings Dougie as ever seen, and certainly of those assembled. The Lady is clothed in shades of pale pastels and gold, crowned with a wreath of leaves and stars upon her long flowing locks of red gold. Her Lord is dressed in robes of greens, browns, and silver, crowned with a stag's horns and stars that match her own in his black hair.

Dougie slowly enters the hall, feeling like he's wearing a burlap sack in his simple silver and blue robe as all assembled turn to him. There's nothing he can do for it, so straightening to his full height a moment, he bows low to the assemblage, arms crossed over his chest and head bowed as he bends deeply at the waist, awaiting acknowledgement to make his introduction. A hush fills the room as the Song in his mind sparkles and quiets in anticipation and surprise.

He is maintaining the position for what is just about too long, when he feels the brush of fingers on the crown of his head and the snapping into place of a new link to his presence among these people. The previously near deafening Song is suddenly bearable as it is now shared amongst them all and the pressure he'd been feeling building around him, is just as suddenly gone. Looking up before straightening, he sees that the Lady is standing before him with her Lord, and the rest of the assembled personage is on their feet turned in his direction. He can feel their excitement tinged with sadness through the newly imparted connection.

"I am Titania, Queen of the Sidhe," she intones. Raising her hands, she faces her people as she begins speaking. "As I foresaw at my ascension, when I first looked within the sacred Pools, Great Tana would return one of our Ancestors to us and this would herald the Age of Man—when we Sidhe must honour the treaty and fade from this realm, continuing our journey to Tír na nÓg. The way has been prepared. Here is Dugron yth Duat, last of us that was Tanu, first of us to reach these shores and this new home—Earth. Honour him!" she cries as she turns back him and kneels with her King at Dougie's feet.

"Honour Him!" the rest of the Sidhe echo as they too kneel to Dougie.

Feeling profoundly embarrassed and more than a little awed by her words, Dougie stands awkwardly looking around himself and at the bowed heads of the other Sidhe. She must have picked his name and origins directly from his mind, and he hadn't even noticed—that's just a little terrifying.

"My Queen, please, I was but a humble anthropologist. It was mere chance that I survived," he tries to explain humbly, but there are tears in his eyes as they return to their feet.

"Dugron, it is not only who you were, but who you are that we honour. Please join us. This is my King, Oberon, and this is the Moon Feast; your timing is perfect as it has just reached full. Do not worry about your friends. Time passes differently within the Hill than beyond it. We will return you only moments after you entered the Long Stair," she says, smiling. Turning, they lead the way back to the dais where a third place has been set between them.

As he follows them, they first circle the other Sidhe at the gathering so they may all greet him. The people he passes are all smiles and small touches. At each brush of a new person's fingers, a new strain is added to the symphony that the Song is writing in his mind as they continue in the sunrise spiral that will end at the dais.

Dougie is nearly overwhelmed by the reception. It is good that he has had a little practise with the TARDIS and the Time Lords in his mind, or he would probably be comatose. Thankful to not further embarrass himself by fainting, he sends another prayer silently winging outward.

Finally reaching the dais, he notices that he has received another gift and finds himself standing in a set of robes the shades of twilight, all blues and purples with hints of both gold and silver. Confused but grateful, he looks to Titania, the question in his eyes. She only smiles, obviously pleased with his reaction.

Seating themselves at the gorgeously set table, Oberon remains standing. Raising his hands, he begins to speak in a deep and resonating voice, "People of the Sidhe, Great Tana has blessed us this Moon Feast. It is the Way for us to share what has happened in the previous Moon pass, but this time, I ask that we have a Great Sharing as we do at Samhain. Dugron has been separate from us this great span of Years. He knows not what happened from when we were still Divided—Tanu and Firvulag. He does not know the Sidhe. Let us share with our brother our story, and beg of him to share the tale of our beginnings. We know only whispers of the Time before the Ship."

"Remember Brede Shipspouse!" the assembled Sidhe intone as one.

"Will it be a Great Sharing?" Oberon asks formally of the gathering.

"Aye!" is the immediate and excited response.

"Dugron, will you accept our Sharing and Share as well your memories of far Duat?" Oberon asks him directly, turning toward him.

"Aye!" Dougie responds enthusiastically; confused but happy to share what he has to offer and to receive such gifts. It is more than he could have ever hoped.

He has no idea what's about to happen, but he can feel the rise of energy in the room. The King and Queen stand to either side of him, arms raised. The rest of the Sidhe raise their left hands, palm up, but place their right hands on the temples of those beside them. In the air above the table between them, an image begins to shimmer into place.

Titania looks down at Dougie with a gentle smile. In his mind he hears her true voice, "Please remove your torc. You will not need it here."

Dougie hasn't had his torc off since he'd received his adult one on his name day. Even so, he tentatively reaches up; it clicks open at his touch and he sets it aside. Not having the familiar weight against his collar bones sends another frisson of fear down his spine, which is instantly wiped away as Titania and Oberon place their fingers gently against his temples. He almost cries out, but is unable to move at all as the history of his people on Earth unspools directly into his mind and into the airspace before the assembled Sidhe.

Falling into a limbo of timelessness, it is either seconds or an Eternity as they relive their history for Dougie and receive their origin story from him in return. Soon though, a screaming darkness claws its way upwards, engulfing him, and he falls.

* * *

Dougie slides forward through shifting and multicoloured layers of light reaching for the star that he's been chasing, but it resolutely remains just out of reach. Frustrated but determined, he makes a colossal effort to reach the star and suddenly captures it between his caging fingers. With a shout of victory that turns to a cry of pain, he abruptly feels like he's being squeezed through a very small hole and toward a very bright light. Fearing he's somehow died and is being reborn, Dougie struggles to awaken. Abruptly, he sits straight up, panting from his exertions. The light around him slams into his skull as a million daggers behind his eyes. Snapping his eyes shut again, he falls back with a groan onto his bed as he hears a female voice next to him.

"Dugron! Please rest! You are not quite well yet." He hears small steps pad quickly away "My Queen! He awakens," she calls from where the door must be.

"The light, it is so bright. My head…it pains me," he's able to grind out to no one in particular.

He feels the warmth in the room lessen a touch as many of the lights are extinguished. Breathing a sigh of relief, he feels cool fingers on his brow, and a cup held to his lips as he's helped to take a sip of some sort of nectar that immediately takes the pain away.

Cracking his eyes open a slit, he peers up into a pair of pale lavender eyes and it is Titania herself who sits by his side, administering to him.

"My Queen," he says weakly, trying to rise.

"Please, you silly man, stay down. We have much to apologise for. In our haste and joy, we nearly killed you. It was only the skill of our Dian Cécht that saved you. You are and are not at all like us. If we had been less hasty, we would have seen."

At the mention of Dionket, Dougie's eyes get wide, remembering the Master Healer that had left Duat with him.

"No, no, of course not," Titania answers his unspoken confusion. "It is a title now for our master healers."

"I see," he says sadly. It was silly to think he wasn't alone.

"You are not alone in as bleak a sense as you are feeling. We are cousins, but we are not brothers," she says, obviously able to hear his thoughts as easily as his words. "As you accidentally shared your entire story with us, including your recent history, you should know that your friend the Doctor is known to us, though not in his current regeneration, but in his past and our future. We call him Fear Síorghlas, the Evergreen Man. He has explained to you the essentials of what we became, but we no longer remembered what we had been. Thank you for that gift. We will Share it with the rest of the Sidhe when we finish moving to Tír na nÓg."

"My Queen, what is this Land of the Young? I have not heard of it," Dougie asks curiously, thankful for the relief from his aching head, as it is now swirling with questions from this new information.

"We have evolved, as you would call it, and we are well aware of all the dimensions we exist within. We enjoy an immortality that will soon no longer have a place here in this reality. Tír na nÓg is out of phase with this plane of human existence. We will all move there so as to no longer interact with the humans, they will only be antagonised if we remain. Long ago, we made a truce with them after many years of fighting. We would prefer to keep it, which is fitting since only we remember it," she explains with a small sad smile.

"Do you still have our Sharing? Do you remember what happened to our people here?" she asks, obviously worried that they may have damaged him.

Looking inward, he sees he does in fact have this new history, but it is raw and he isn't feeling up to exploring, just yet. Recognising the signs of Redaction in his mind, he senses that extensive work was done, and most of it has not settled yet.

"I believe so, my Queen. My head feels like has been cracked open and the contents stirred vigorously," he tells her with a smile, intending it to be joke. Instead, it is her turn to look embarrassed.

"We are truly very sorry for our actions. Great Tana must not be through with you yet, my cousin. You fought to live, and Dian Cécht was able to not only repair the damage our Sharing created, but also… _enhance_  your mind. We cannot make you like us, that is beyond even our skills; but he was able to give a great gift, Dugron. I hope you see it as one, as it is only a gift if the one it is given to views it as such."

Arriving at her side, Oberon places a hand on Titania's shoulder and smiles a warm welcome down at Dougie. "Welcome back to us, Dugron. Dian Cécht was able to raise you to full operancy. You are no longer reliant on your torc. We felt it was the least we could do for you when you were determined to survive our rude lack of restraint towards your wellbeing," he tells Dougie, grinning.

Dougie is well enough to know when he's being teased, and he grins back at Oberon's joke.

"I…I do not know how to thank you. I have had it my entire life; as you know, natural operancy was not possible for us, the Divided. I know your gift to me will grow as my understanding of it does. The Doctor…" Dougie pauses, eyes widening as it occurs to him that he might have missed his ride.

"Be at peace, Dugron. Time flows as we wish it to in the Hill. We are not in sync with the outside world. It has been several days for you in here, but only minutes for your friends. In Tír na nÓg it is the opposite. We try not to bring mortals there often because of it," Oberon explains to him. "But enough of that. Rest. You missed the feast. We still need to feed you or you may speak poorly of our hospitality. Dian Cécht will also wish to see the fruit of his labours." Reaching out and touching Dougie's hand lightly, he takes his leave.

Laying a hand against his cheek a moment, Titania stands and follows Oberon so Dougie can get more rest.

He hasn't felt so cared for since he was a child. Thinking of his parents, Dougie falls asleep remembering his mother's palm against his cheek and the comforting buzz of belonging in the back of his mind.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I borrowed part of the idea for this adventure of Dougie's from the BBC Eighth Doctor Adventures: Autumn Mist. It is an unfortunately written little book that is actually still a bit worth it. The story is interesting and many of the details fascinating, if poorly executed (IMHO). I hope you enjoy this take on the Sidhe. Thanks for reading!
> 
> Thank you so much for reading. I hope you are enjoying it! Always love a review. :-) Beta'd by the ever-lovinest Ashlanielle


	11. Shall I Compare Thee to a Summer's Day?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> We say goodbye to the Sidhe and forward to a more adventure.

**11 Shall I Compare Thee to a Summer's Day?**

"I can't believe Shakespeare wrote that Sonnet for you!" Rose says, laughing at Jack as they are making their way back to the TARDIS.

" _Shall I compare thee to a Summer's Day_?" Jack recites, also laughing. "Well, when you're this handsome, even Shakespeare can't resist my ' _darling buds of May_ '."

"As if you needed any help thinking you're wonderful, you prawn. Get in the TARDIS!" Donna snarks at Jack, giving him a shove.

The Doctor is a couple of steps behind them, pausing at the door a moment, thinking about not only the events of the day, but wondering what made Shakespeare write that particular sonnet for Jack...

_But thy eternal summer shall not fade,_

_Nor lose possession of that fair thou ow'st,_

_Nor shall death brag thou wand'rest in his shade,_

_When in eternal lines to Time thou grow'st._

_So long as men can breathe, or eyes can see,_

_So long lives this, and this gives life to thee._

He recites the last few stanzas quietly to himself, thinking,  _/The Universe is a strange and wonderful place/._

As he's about to enter the TARDIS, the annoying buzz in his mind suddenly peaks becoming almost unbearable as he feels the unmistakable sizzling pop and sudden silence of a 'fixed point' snapping into place.

Entering the TARDIS quickly behind the others, he wonders where Dougie is. Querying the ship doesn't yield any answers, so Dougie hasn't returned yet. Reaching for him with his mind, The Doctor finds...nothing. Digging a little deeper, he can't feel Dougie's presence anywhere.

Unsettled by this development, he shoves his hands in his pockets as he begins to pace, thinking. His psychic paper wallet finds its way into his hand after only a few steps. Pulling it out, he flips it open to see…

**_Stanheng_ **

Rose felt the alteration of the local timeline as well as the change in the Doctor's mood and is now looking over his shoulder at the wallet with a worried expression.

"Stanheng? That snap was a 'fixed point,' wasn't it? What happened? Where's Dougie?"

"All good questions, Rose Tyler. This says Stonehenge in very Old English," he explains.

"Stonehenge, really? Is that where you think Dougie is?"

"Weeell, I  _am_  worried about that 'fixed point,' too and I was wondering where he could have wandered off to when the psychic paper slipped itself in my hand, so… yes? But it's far from here, Rose; he couldn't have walked there in the few hours we've been here…without help, that is. And that is exactly what a 'fixed point' feels like when they…affix, but that doesn't mean it has to be Dougie…although I can't think what could be so important right now." Looking thoughtful for a moment, the light bulb is very obvious when it goes off.

"The Sidhe!" he exclaims. Rose blinks at him a couple of times in disbelief.

"What?! You said they were real, but…but they have Dougie?" Rose asks worriedly.

"Well, they  _are_  related, maybe they...called him? They could do that. He might have even heard their Song. That would explain the anxiety I picked up from him earlier. I've met them before, but they haven't met me yet. But they're aware of Time, so maybe they'll remember…anyway, you're going to love this, Rose," he says with a grin.

The Doctor bounces around the Console to get them moving, Rose is still gaping at him. The thought of visiting the Sidhe, her childhood fairytales come to life, still has her rooted in place.

"Where did Jack and Donna go?" the Doctor asks, noting the missing couple as he works the proper buttons and switches of the Console.

"Uh...Jack and Donna...Right, sorry, showers. I can't believe you missed the tirade about taking her to filthy places. Anyway, that's what they are up to," Rose tells him.

"Well, I was distracted trying to feel for Dougie and then the psychic paper. She isn't the first companion to be annoyed about getting dirty. Really, it's just dirt, it comes off…Oh hello," he says as he comes across the globe containing the Carrionites in one of his pockets. Setting it on the Console, he moves around to continue the process of transporting them.

Rose picks up the globe and looks in it at the dissatisfied contents, "It's a bit like a reverse snow globe that you don't have to shake. They don't look particularly happy, Doctor. Can it break?" she asks the Doctor while peering in.

"Nah, that crystal globe is nearly as old as they are. In fact, it is related to technology that Dougie's people utilised. Highly conductive storage crystals, fascinating matrices, but you have to the key to open it, and I have that now," he says with a smile, tapping his skull.

"It doesn't seem like the earliest races were very nice, Doctor. The Racnoss, now the Carrionites, how did anything survive?" Rose asks quietly, watching the swirling forms in the glass.

Noticing the intensity of Rose's distraction, the Doctor steps around the Console and gently takes the globe from her. "Well, there's a reason we called it the Dark Times. We, the Time Lords, fought them. We had help of course, but those earliest creatures who were bent on devouring the Universe, were defeated or destroyed. It started with the Great Vampires; now there's a story," he says with a lopsided grin. "But the Racnoss, the Carrionites, and others were dealt with, too. The War against the Vampires lasted for more than 500 years. By the time it was over, we were so tired of fighting that it led directly to the Time Lord law of non-interference. It was millions of years ago, though," he explains. "I'll just go pop these into storage, and we'll go see what trouble Dougie has got himself into, okay Rose?"

Snapping out of her daze, she nods, smiling at him. "Okay. I'll make us some tea, Elizabethan England was a bit lacking." Going up on tip-toe to give him a quick kiss, she heads off to the kitchen with a bounce.

Following her with his eyes, he waits till she's around the corner before he stashes the globe and its inhabitants. He didn't like the way Rose had fixated on the Carrionites in the Globe, and they had managed some sway over her only a couple of hours previous when the one had guessed her name and left her unconscious. He was not going to give them the chance to find a way to use her—out of sight out of mind.

When Rose returns with the tea, he finishes plotting the coordinates, and in another moment they have moved spatially some 85 miles to the West and North. They have just settled when Donna and Jack return to the Console room…hand in hand.

Rose raises an eyebrow at them; the Doctor is oblivious, blithering on about Stonehenge. Jack grins in reply to Rose and Donna blushes before she also smiles.

"…built by aliens! Can you believe that? I guess technically it's true, sort of, but they've been here even longer than the humans, so I think they would qualify as naturalised citizens at this point, don't you, Rose? Oh, hello, Donna, Jack. Ready to see if Dougie needs any saving?" he says excitedly. "You are about to meet the Sidhe. They are somewhat shy and alarmingly powerful, so try not to insult any of them Jack."

" _Me_? I'm not usually the one that gets us tossed into jail for being rude," Jack says with a laugh.

"No, you're the one who gets nearly roasted by locals for penguin fornication," the Doctor rebuts.

"Hey, that was clearly a misunderstanding. No, really Donna, who worships Penguins? It was a floaty, no really! I mean it!" Jack splutters, trying to explain to Donna's incredulous look what really happened.

Not trying to stifle her giggles at the look on Donna's face, or Jack's hilarious attempt to explain Relitarium V's religious quirks, Rose takes the Doctor's hand and pulls him toward the door. Donna rolls her eyes at Jack and follows.

"Come on, you knob. We'll talk about your penguin proclivities another time," she says, trying not to laugh at him.

Sighing, Jack takes the offered hand and gives her a grin, the wattage of which makes her forget that she was annoyed in the first place, which nearly annoys her again.  _/He might be_ ** _too_** _damn pretty!/_ she thinks to herself.

Stepping from the TARDIS and onto the shallow plain, they are right amongst the enormous standing stones. It's a bit eerie in the light of the full moon and the mist floating around them. It's also cool and damp causing Jack and Donna shiver a little in the chill.

The silence in which they find themselves is beginning to be unnerving when they abruptly notice movement in the shadows. Tensing, they all relax when they see Dougie step out from the blackness between two great stones and walk toward them. He's not arrayed in the same manner of clothing they last saw him, even before he masked himself as Dougie Mcpherson. Now he appears to be dressed in a manner of flowing robe, too many shades of grey in the moonlight to see its true colour. It suits him.

Rose also notices that he seems lighter, maybe just in spirit, but there is definitely something different about him. She and the Doctor are aware of him as another telepath—a slight white noise hovering at the edge of conscious thought. The Doctor told her that it is different with members of your own species, more of a distant crowd noise. One you could focus on and hear individuals within, if you chose.

Dougie now rests lightly at the edge of her mind, just a flutter, and a very happy flutter at that, but not the same buzzing tingle. He is radiating a joy, and a  _strength_  that he hadn't before. The Doctor must have been right—he'd met his people, and apparently it went well.

"Dougie, there you are! We weren't sure if we should be worried," the Doctor tells him as they all meet in the light of the full moon.

"Perhaps you should have been for a time, but all is well now. I am very pleased you received my message. I too was a bit worried that I may have missed my ride," he says with a smile.

The Doctor, Jack, and Donna start questioning him about his experience. With many a gasp of disbelief, the tale unfurls to everyone's delight. Rose, on the other hand, is enjoying the story, but there's something bothering her and she just can't put her fingers to it. The easy way that Dougie is expressing himself isn't unusual, but…there it is…just below the surface. She can just catch the edge of what feels like music. The ethereal beauty of it hovers just beyond her reach.

"Rose? Rooo-ose? What's wrong? Rose?" It takes her a moment and a touch from the Doctor on her arm to bring he back to the conversation. She had been on a mental treasure hunt, trying to catch the source of the song she's hearing. It's nothing like the TARDIS, but yet not totally unfamiliar.

"I…I'm sorry. There's something, I just can't…quite…," her gaze is still not focused on their surroundings as she tips her head from side to side, obviously trying to 'hear' something. Taking an odd step forward she lays her hand directly in the centre of Dougie's chest, and her eyes snap wide and into focus as the music comes crashing into her awareness.

"Dougie, it's you! The song…you…my God…your mind…it's so, so…awake! What happened?" Rose asks him, wonder plain on her face.

"What's Rose goin' on about? I don't hear a song. Some wind, I think that was an owl, but no music. Jack, do you hear music?" Donna asks, looking around them.

Jack also looks around somewhat uncertainly. He can feel something, but he's been ignoring it, assuming it was the TARDIS. "Not exactly. I'm sensitive, but I'm not getting whatever has them so excited. Look at the Doctor. He's looking at Dougie like he's made of rainbows and just delivered a lifetime supply of jam."

He's right The Doctor and Rose are gazing in delighted wonder at Dougie, and there's a thickness to the air that Jack can sense; telling him they are still communicating, just not out loud. Taking Donna's hand, he pulls her over to the standing stones, murmuring something about not ever seeing them before where he could actually touch them without getting into trouble.

Donna doesn't like being out of the loop, and something is definitely going on; but Jack is so adorable, she follows him anyway. Deciding it might be a bad idea to climb around on the stones like a pair of kids, they wander through them instead, the hush in the air demanding respect; much like a cathedral.

* * *

 _-Your torc, it's gone!-_ Rose notices the missing golden ring around his neck.

_-Yes, I no longer need it. It was their gift to me.-_

_-What happened, Dougie? And did you notice anything peculiar happen?-_ the Doctor questions.

_-You mean other than meeting distant relatives, having my brain rewired, and feasting for days while only a few hours have passed out here?-_

_-Blimey! That_ **_is_ ** _a lot. I forgot that the Sidhe's Hills are temporally transcendental. That explains why I couldn't locate your mind earlier. We also felt a 'fixed point' snap into place, but we haven't found the event.-_

_-A 'fixed point'?-_ Dougie asks, unfamiliar with the term _._

 _-Yes, something that must occur for other events to roll forward. It creates a huge paradox if they don't happen and can affect all kinds of important events. Some things can be nudged or rewritten in Time, but not 'fixed points.' They are facts that have to happen,-_ the Doctor explains

_-Ahh, well then, yes…I believe that was me, and I may have felt it happen, too. The Song was building almost to the point of being overwhelming as I was first entering the mound, but when I turned the corner, seeing the Sidhe, everything…paused, waiting. Then as I bowed, Queen Titania came to me. When she touched me, speaking of a prophecy, there was a strange…release. I do not know how else to describe it. I assumed it was the establishment of the link between myself and the Sidhe, but perhaps it was this 'fixed point'.-_

_-Yes, that's it exactly; like a silent balloon popping. This is when they leave, the Sidhe, transitioning out of this reality. Pretty important that…guns would be a problem for them…welll I think they're a problem for everyone, but I'm not allergic to iron.-_

_-Dougie, you said your brain was rewired? What happened? Is that why you don't need your torc any longer?-_ Rose wonders.

_-There was a misunderstanding as to our relationship to one another and in the process of Sharing our stories, they accidentally injured me. Their healer, Dian Cécht was able to save me, but it involved heavy Redaction and a lot of work in my brain. The outcome of which is full operancy without the torc. I am still amazed and not exactly certain the extent of the changes, but I am no longer strictly Tanu. Perhaps you can tell me, Doctor?-_

Rose's hands go to her mouth, when she understands that they had nearly lost Dougie, and they didn't even know. Dougie smiles at her in understanding, and pushes her a quick mental hug in thanks for her worry.

_-Oh, yes…absolutely; we can run another set of scans. I hadn't realised they could do that, must be the similarities we talked about earlier. Brilliant! Wait, what prophecy? Prophecies make me uncomfortable…too vague and easily misinterpreted.-_

_-Ahh, well that would be me again. Titania said that she was given a vision when she became Queen that I would return to them bringing the lost tale of their beginnings here, and that that would signal the time to move to Tír na nÓg.-_

_-Land of the Young, well that makes sense. Hmmm…seems fairly straight forward; unusual that! How's it feel to be a part of a circular paradox? I'm not fond of them myself….-_

"Oi! Come and look at this!" Donna shouts excitedly, interrupting their telepathic conversation.

Moving to where she and Jack are standing, having explored their way to the edge of the ditch, they all can see a moving glowing cloud in the distance.

"That is the Host of the Sidhe. They rode out just before you landed, knowing you were on your way," Dougie tells them wistfully.

"They're beautiful," Rose sighs. The Host look like a many coloured comet come to Earth, or a flock of glowing butterflies lit from within. The high sweet sound of horns filters through the distance to them as the Host moves beyond the ridge and disappears from sight.

With Jack's arm around Donna's shoulders, they turn as a unit to the other three. "I don't know about you guys, but we haven't spent days feasting; and we're starving!" Jack says, grinning at Donna's enthusiastic nod.

"I could murder some chips, Doctor," Rose says. "How about it, up for a little culinary adventure?"

The Doctor is still staring thoughtfully off after the now vanished Sidhe. Rose can't hear his exact thoughts, but the impressions she's picking up are wonder and sadness mixed. Twining her fingers with his, she gives him a little squeeze, silently there for him. Turning to her, she glimpses the edge of dark loneliness before he locks it away and beams back at her, as if nothing in all the Universe was wrong.

"Chips! Of course you want chips, Rose Tyler. How about that chippy on Clorian Prime's moon? What was it called?" the Doctor asks, pushing a hand through his hair trying to yank the memory forward and bury the creeping desolation that he'd felt moments ago.

"The one with the blue and green potatoes? I think it was Bort. I love them! The fish is weird though, but tasty," Rose says with a grin, proud of herself for remembering before the Doctor did.

"What do you mean by weird?" Donna asks hesitantly as they make their way back toward the TARDIS.

"They fly and the flesh is yellow, and I mean banana yellow," Jack explains to her.

"Bananas? Who mentioned bananas? Oh, they have those brilliant banana-starkle-fruit shakes! Oh Rose, I love those. We have to get them, too," the Doctor enthuses. Now he's fairly bouncing in anticipation, as they head back to the TARDIS.

"Starklefruits?" Donna isn't so sure she's as hungry as she previously thought.

"Ummm, yeah…local fruit. Sort of looks like a cross between an apple and a hedgehog, and please…don't ask where the milk comes from," Jack cautions her, making his way through the doors first. Donna, never one to stop asking, especially after a lead in like that, lets out a loud, "WHAT?!" to Jacks indistinct explanation. Rose, the Doctor, and Dougie are still outside the TARDIS. Jack's laughter at Donna's exclamation brings smiles to all their faces.

Dougie has his back to the TARDIS, sending one more silent  _thank you_  through the link to his new kin. The warm return through the Song bathes his mind in its soothing balm. Turning, he sees the Doctor is holding Rose close as they gaze at the now setting moon, fat and golden on the horizon.

Flicking his eyes to Dougie over the top of Rose's head, the Doctor asks, "You can still hear them, can't you…the Sidhe?"

"Yes," Dougie says simply, knowing the depth of the Doctor's question and its implications.

The Doctor closes his eyes and slowly sighs, tightening his embrace around Rose who is now also looking at Dougie with a small but genuinely happy smile for him.

"Right, well…there are chips waiting!" the Doctor blurts out as he releases Rose and heads directly into the TARDIS, covering his pain with enthusiasm—a tried and true trick to divert the ache.

Dougie and Rose glance at each other before they move into the TARDIS as well. Taking his hand a moment, Rose tells him, "Do NOT be sorry for the gifts you received. He'll be okay."

"Thank you, Rose," Dougie says quietly, swallowing the apology that he was indeed about to make and enters the TARDIS with Rose. He understands the Doctor's pain. He too has spent many years alone, and without the soothing presence of his kind. He has empathy for the Doctor, but no remorse.

Stepping through the doors, they find the room filled with laughter and the easy banter between Jack and the Doctor. Dougie passes up the ramp and to his station at the Console. Rose closes the doors and leans against them, crossing her arms over her chest as she watches. Everyone has picked up on the Doctor's unhappiness, and they are doing a brilliant job of teasing and distracting him. Throwing them into the Vortex, the Doctor looks over at Rose. Shooting his hand out and wiggling his fingers, she glides up the ramp taking it with a grin.

Privately, she vows to herself that they will find his some of his people, too. Some how, someway, she will heal that gaping wound in his mind with more than just herself and Dougie.


	12. All in the Family

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Even when adventuring across the Universe, sometimes it nice to take a day off.

**12 All in the Family**

"Oh, I forgot how gorgeous those chips are!" Rose enthuses as they enter the TARDIS. "Who knew blue-green spotted potato things would be so tasty? And that dessert! Thanks for sharing, Dougie. I think I only just now got it all licked off my fingers."

"Oh? Did you get it all? I was sort of hoping…," the Doctor trails off suggestively, winking at Rose. She swats him playfully with an eye roll, and he switches gears, explaining about the chips. "I think it has less to do with the potatoes and more to do with them still frying them up in animal fat. You see the local variant of the cow has been genetically enhanced to pull excess fat from itself in its sixth stomach, where it also filters out the dangerous fatty acids and then discards it with its excrement, neatly packaged in a casein sack."

"Spaceman, are you saying the cows poop fat, and then these people use it to fry their food?" Donna asks, eyes wide and her face turning a little green around the edges.

"Yep! That's it exactly. Brilliant system really. They don't have to kill as many cows and the chips taste better."

"I might never eat chips again," Donna laments.

"Well, only green and blue ones," Jack teases her. "I like the yellow fish, although the wings are awful boney, still…tasty, tasty," he says with a grin.

"Would you stop talking about food, please?" Donna replies pointedly, smacking him in the shoulder.

Dougie finds the entire episode very amusing. He hadn't been hungry until they entered the Vortex. Then it suddenly felt like he hadn't eaten in days. The Doctor explained that that's what happened in the Sidhe's Hills; the time differential catching up. What occurs with the Sidhe stays with the Sidhe.

When exploring new places, they always look forward to another new experience, and part of that is the cuisine. Dougie's not eating meat, though, made finding food a bit difficult on a moon where nearly everything was made with or in the stuff. The purple fleshed inhabitants seemed to live on a diet that was 90% animal protein. Blech! Luckily, it was cosmopolitan enough with the enormous shopping district, that finding other offerings led them on a merry chase to feed Dougie. Several vegetable pies later, two starklefruit shakes, and a very strange but delectable dessert that was like cotton candy, except made from spun custard; Dougie felt much better. He'd shared the dessert, as it was piled on a cone nearly the length of his arm and was way too much food for just one.

"Alright, you lot; let's get into the Vortex and decide where to go next," Rose calls out, herding everyone further into the Console room.

"I vote for anywhere that isn't Earth," Jack says.

"Oi! What do have against Earth?" Donna asks him, eyebrow raised.

"Nothing, really. We just seem to end up there more often than not—through two versions of the Doctor, by the way," he points out, with a shrug.

"Didn't we have this conversation earlier? Humans, trouble…All. The. Time," the Doctor comments, draping Janis' coat over the railing on his way up the ramp.

"That's rich comin' from you Martian-boy," Donna points out, poking him in the chest with one hand while the other is cocked on her hip.

"Well, I will have you know Donna Noble, that…"

"Girls, girls, you're both pretty! Can we please just leave?" Rose interrupts, snarking at them.

Donna's mouth clicks shut and she glares at Jack on her way to her station at the Console, daring him to make a remark.

For his part, Jack just smiles sweetly at her. Rose had gotten that little bit of snark from him, and seeing it used on the Doctor and Donna just made his day.

"Oi! What?!" the Doctor splutters. "I am not a girl, as you well know, Rose Tyler, and I am not certain that you…,"

"Oi! Doctor, I was teasing you. Let's go, vamoose, allons-y, and all that. Bad guys to crush, rebellions to foment, puppies to save. How about you randomise us, and we'll see what sort of brilliance we can get up to today," Rose says, grinning at him after interrupting him…again.

Through their link, he can feel that Rose is teasing him, but he also feels a little like he's being managed.

 ** _~My Thief, I have been managing you for 700 years, though not always successfully. We may not always go where you desire, but I always take you where you need to be~_**  the TARDIS points out with a rich raspberry of amusement.

 _/Not helping!/_  he replies, feeling putout.  _/And what have_ ** _you_** _been up to? Haven't heard anything from you or Romana in the past couple of days./_

**_~The intricacies of the Matrix require a great deal of fine attention. We may be finished soon.~_ **

That didn't really answer his question, and ' _soon'_  to a creature who can see all of Time and Space can be a bit relative. Inwardly shrugging, he decides to let it go. The Doctor can't really think of anything he needs from the Matrix at the moment anyway.

These thoughts earn him another amused snort from the TARDIS—business as usual.

Rose has everyone situated, and they have just turned their attention back to him as he finishes his little conversation with the TARDIS. Clapping his hands together, the Doctor moves to the console and begins pressing buttons.

"Let's give the Randomiser a twist then, and off we go!" he exclaims, throwing the final dematerialisation switch with a flourish. Piloting the TARDIS with so many people is a lot less fun, he thinks, but it is much smoother. That's probably a good thing, since he and Rose used to end up on their backsides more often than not (though that  _was_  part of the fun). Flinging all of them to the grating would raise the odds of someone being hurt eventually. And, of course, starting an adventure out in the Infirmary is just no fun for anyone.

There's a fair bit of shaking and shuddering, which the Doctor explains is just the TARDIS putting together the random coordinates. Rose rolls her eyes at this, but keeps her thoughts to herself. Looking around, she can see that everyone is having a great time. The bright smiles on all their faces makes her happy.

As they land easily, without even a thud, it's Jack's turn to open the doors first and he bounces down the ramp, followed closely by Donna and Dougie. Rose is still at her station next to the Doctor, who is staring quizzically at the monitor.

"What is it, luv?" she asks him quietly, leaning over to see the screen.

"Uh, Doc? This looks like London," Jack calls from the door as he looks down the street and seeing a double decker bus go by.

Glancing up at Rose with an expression of amused resignation, The Doctor takes her hand and leads her down the ramp, instead of answering her.

"That's because it is London, Jack. London, February 18th, 2008, about three weeks after we left."

"What?! Well, isn't that just wizard? I though you pushed the 'anywhere but Earth' button," Donna says sarcastically.

"No, I used the Randomiser, which is completely different."

"Why didn't you…," Donna begins, but is cut off by Rose.

"Donna, there isn't an 'anywhere but Earth' button. There must be some random trouble here, and we were drawn to it," Rose tells her, shrugging.

"Doesn't sound all that random to me," Donna grumbles. "Three weeks, eh? Well, then I'm going to go see my mum and Gramps. You lot, go get into trouble. Pick me up when you're finished," she demands breezily, as she heads back into the interior of the ship to get a few things she's picked up as presents.

Jack follows Donna's retreating back with his eyes before looking back to Rose and the Doctor.

"Ummm…"

"You want to go with her, or check out these alien signals the TARDIS picked up?" the Doctor asks, waggling his eyebrows. To him the choice is obvious.

"Go on, Jack. Visiting with the family is a big step, though. You sure you're ready for that?" Rose asks him with a smile.

"Rosie, I…She talks about Wilf all the time and I really enjoyed meeting him when we picked her up. I just, well, things are great with us, and her family is important to her. You know, just being polite," he manages to get out, but still blushing like a teenager.

"Riiiight, of course…polite. Watch out for her mum; I'm not sure she likes anyone," Rose teases him, her tongue caught in her teeth as she imagines Sylvia and Jack's meeting.

"Thanks, Rosie! I really don't want to screw this up. I knew you'd understand!" And in a flash, he's up the ramp and heading to his room as well. From their location by the door, they can just hear his knock and, "Hey, Donna?"

"Rose, what is it you understand? He would really rather meet Sylvia than check out alien tech? Really?" With his face all wrinkled up in a disbelieving scowl, the Doctor's surprise would be adorable if Rose didn't already have plenty of experience with his  _feelings_  on  _'domestics'_.

"Actually he  _wants_  to visit with Wilf. Meeting her mum is just bonus and some blokes aren't as afraid of domestics as you are, Doctor," she points out to him, her hands going to her hips.

"I'm not afraid…I just have…well… you know," he splutters looking uncomfortable now.

"Oh, I know, Doctor. You took me to visit my mum plenty of times, and even stayed for tea." Really, the silly man.

"She threatened my life, Rose!" he exclaims. The look on his face, oh it's priceless-the Oncoming Storm reduced to a fine mist at just the memory of Jackie Tyler's slap!

"Seriously, this is exactly why you and I never went anywhere for two years," she says with exasperation, rolling her eyes in mock annoyance. She almost feels bad for him...almost. He's just so clueless sometimes when it comes to humans.

"Rose! We went lots of places! I fail to see…," he trails off.

Her expression suggests to him that maybe he should stop talking. Blinking rapidly, finally, a couple of important facts slide into place, and the Doctor's light bulb goes off.

"Right, ahhhh, I get it," he says a little sheepishly, tugging on his ear and not quite looking at Rose.

- _No, you're not human, but I would think after spending 700 years around them, that you would have learned a little more about how we fall in love-_ Rose sends him telepathically, along with a wave of love and affection.

- _Yes, well. Before you, I didn't really pay any attention. Even when Susan chose that David Campbell lad, I…well…I wanted her to be happy, and he made her happy.-_  He knows he isn't explaining himself well, so he just sends Rose wave after wave of feeling, hoping she'll know how to interpret what he can't or doesn't want to put into words.

"You've got me," she says quietly into his ear, a smile in her voice. Closing his eyes a moment, the Doctor thanks the Sphynx and the Universe in general for his Rose as he drinks her in, basking in the love.

"That looks kinda naughty, you two," Jack interrupts them as he comes out of the hallway and past the Console, carrying Donna's bags.

Rose, the Doctor, and Dougie all look toward Jack, startled; they didn't hear him coming. Choosing to ignore Jack's entrance, the Doctor doesn't leap away from Rose for once, and gives her a quick kiss before stepping away to deal with Jack and Donna's departure.

Dougie is pink with embarrassment as he turns away and takes a seat. He hadn't meant to eavesdrop on the Doctor and Rose. He hadn't even realised he was fixated on them until Jack's comment. With his newly enhanced mental capabilities, Dougie can easily see how Rose and the Doctor's energies wrap around and through each other, knotting tightly into a thick braided cord of blue and gold potential that stretches between them—they are captivating. He wouldn't have thought that possible, since they had not begun life as the same species, but there it is. With  _his_  people at least, that sort of marriage bond was so rare that he wasn't really sure he had enough information to create a solid theory. And what did it matter? They love each other, and were obviously meant to be together.

With a rye little chuckle to himself for his foolishness, Dougie looks up to catch Rose gazing at him, that grin that the Doctor finds so irresistible touching her face. She takes a seat next to Dougie and leans into him.

"I'm glad you chose to come with us, Dougie. I expect it was hard after the time you spent with the Sidhe. We would have understood if you wanted to stay…especially the Doctor, though we would have been disappointed," she says candidly.

"Truthfully, it never occurred to me to stay. In fact, I was worried I had missed my ride when I awoke and found I had been there for so long," he says with a grin. Looking down at his hands, he continues, "They were wonderful, and I will always be thankful for the Song that they restored to me—I can hear the echoes of it even now, but they are not my family. My experience proved that."

Looking back up at Rose and taking her hand, he tries to explain his feelings. "I hope this isn't too forward of me, but you have made me feel more welcome than even my own people did before I ever left Duat. I think of  _you all_  as my family, and I couldn't bear the thought of you leaving without me." The earnestness in his voice touches Rose. With a smile, she squeezes his hand reassuringly.

"We wouldn't leave you, Dougie; not before talking to you first, at least. I'd make sure of that. The Doctor has sometimes in the past made those kinds of choices for people, thinking it was in their best interest. But that was a long time ago," she explains with a touch of sadness in her tone, remembering Emergency Program One and the flickers she just received about Susan's departure.

Refusing to be drawn into that negative line of thought, Rose squeezes his hand again, smiling. She jumps up, pulling Dougie with her toward the commotion at the Console where things are getting tense. There are bags everywhere, and Donna and the Doctor are arguing about how long they're going to be here versus how long she wants to stay. Jack is leaning against the Console, watching the tennis match with obvious amusement. He's just going to wait until someone tells him where to go and what to carry. Otherwise, he'll just make sure that Donna doesn't actually kill the Doctor.  _/Ahhh…siblings,/_  he thinks.  _/Aren't they adorable?/_


	13. Not So Random, Random

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A couple of rapid fire and taxing adventures means...vacation! But not everyone can relax yet.

**13 Not So Random, Random**

Like most trips, being dropped where they were needed did not always mean that it was going to be all fun and games. Dougie opted to stay in the TARDIS for this one. He wasn't fully recovered from his reunion with the Sidhe, and decided a couple of days meditating would do him much more good. He told them he'd join them on the next one…which will probably still be Earth.

Knowing that Donna and Jack wanted to visit Donna's family, Rose and the Doctor encouraged them to head out before leaving themselves, to check on some interesting readings he was certain were the real reason they were there. There were some very strange signals that appeared to be alien in origin, and they were off to investigate them.

The meeting between Sylvia and Jack went better than either Wilf or Donna could have expected. The initial round of exclamations, accusations, and generally disagreeable comments were all skilfully deflected and charmed out of existence by Jack's irresistible charisma. Within an hour, Sylvia was asking what his favourite foods were so she could make them for dinner. Donna and Wilf were so astounded they could only sit with their teacups poised and watch as Jack's masterpiece played out.

Later, Donna pointed out that his ability to charm her mother like a cobra in a basket would not get him out of taking her on a real date. The sofa was set up for him…Goodnight. With a resigned sigh that quickly turned into a grin, he cheerfully made himself comfortable on the sofa. He had slept plenty of times in much less pleasant accommodations and this one had the added benefit of Donna in the morning.

A chance conversation with her mum the next day, which of course stemmed from a comment about her weight, tripped Donna's newly developing investigative skills. Sylvia suggested she try out this new Adipose weight loss program her friend Suzette was using. "It defies belief," her mum had said.  _Is that right?_

A harrowing day later, they have saved a million people from being turned into fat babies—literally babies made of living fat, the young of a race called the Adipose (no, really). Though starting the day separate, it turned out that they were all investigating together, just from different angles. When they ran into each other at Adipose Industries that night, the Doctor was thrilled that Donna had figured out what was wrong and was jumping right in. Donna was ridiculously proud of the Doctor's praise.

All together, they were able to thwart the ghastly plans of Miss Foster, the Nanny. Unfortunately, being in charge of repopulating for the Adipose, she thought she could get away with doing it on a Class 5 planet. Team TARDIS proved her wrong, and no matter how important she thought she was, the parent Adipose didn't agree. The five storey drop to her demise proved their point.

When finished, they all walked back to where the TARDIS was parked, arm in arm, letting the first responders deal with the clean up. Donna thought it was hysterical that they'd parked the TARDIS right by her mum's car that she and Jack had borrowed earlier. Rose pulled out the superphones that she and the Doctor had gotten for Donna and Jack, suggesting that she could let her mum know where the car was, and then they would go ahead and leave. Sylvia wasn't at all pleased, but Donna cut her off, telling her it wasn't that far and she would leave the keys in a bin.

Running back around the corner of the building, there were still emergency vehicles in evidence. Donna located the closest bin, and turned to the good looking young man who stood next to it and told him that when a crazy older lady showed up whinging about her car keys, they were there in that bin and would he please pass the message on. She didn't notice the shock and surprise on his face as he spluttered his agreement. With an enormous grin, Donna turned and ran back to the TARDIS, ready to go.

Mickey Smith didn't have enough time left on his jumper to follow Donna, which he found extremely frustrating. After all the jumps he'd made, to be so close and then run out of time…it was infuriating. Walking away from the accident scene, he waited till he turned a corner to hit the button on the dimension jumper, determined to get Malcolm to find a way to give him more time. In a flash of blue light and a quick breeze, Mickey winked out of existence just as the TARDIS wheezed to life and headed into the Vortex.

* * *

They tried using the Randomiser one last time, and even after protestations of, "Really, anywhere but Earth," they ended up on Earth (of course), but this time in America, New York City, 1930. The previously held hope that Rose had indeed killed all the remaining Daleks was thrown out the window when they disrupted plans held by a lost group of specialised Daleks, called the Cult of Skaro. The Doctor's knowledge of the Cult of Skaro and genetic manipulation are the only things that ended up saving them.

Over the next couple of days the team is separated, nearly enslaved, slightly electrocuted (the Doctor), saved from being shot by a Dalek/Human hybrid (the Doctor again), and nearly murdered by a hybrid army. The army decided they didn't want to be used as pawns after all, but the Doctor was unable to stop the genocide of this newly aware hybrid species by its creators—everyone did  _not_  live this time around.

In one of the few benefits to the adventure, what had previously been a quartet, the Cult of Skaro was reduced to only one, Dalek Caan who managed to escape via emergency temporal shift, but no one knew to where. Out there somewhere was at least one more Dalek and that was all it would take. Managing to save New York, the citizens of Hooverville, and the rest of the planet felt like hollow victories with its successful escape.

Dougie was very affected by Sec's death and the deaths of the Dalek/human hybrids. He'd never encountered a race like the Daleks, that was so consumed by xenophobic hatred, and that great loss of potential was the antithesis of his own beliefs.

Once they were all safely back at the TARDIS, the Doctor pointedly disconnected the Randomiser and piloted them successfully to San Helios for some much needed R&R.

* * *

"Oi, Spacemen! How about some more drinks, something other than banana, yeah?" Donna hollers from her lounger in the sand next to Rose, just outside their seaside cabana. The Doctor and Jack glance at each other with matching amused grins as they are already elbow deep in drink making paraphernalia.

"I'm fine with banana," Rose calls back and then squeals as Donna swats her arm in mock protest.

Laughing, Rose gets up from her own lounger, needing a break from the heat. The Doctor said the planet has a filtering shield for the light; but still with three suns, it can get really warm, especially to her cooler Time Lord preferences.

Gliding up to the Doctor from behind, she wraps her arms around him and kisses him between his bare shoulder blades, right where that adorable little mole lays. She's been enjoying his comfortable lack of clothes while they've been here. That is, when she's not completely distracted by it. Currently, he's wearing a pair of bone coloured linen trousers that shows off the slight golden tan he's been acquiring. Her retaliation—the bikini, in all of its barely there variations. Todays is purple with flowers and cleverly situated straps. If they were alone, she might consider being naked; but even with all of Jack's attention latched onto Donna, he still manages to keep up a running flirtatious banter with the rest of them. Even Dougie isn't spared, though he is always the most dressed of all of them.

They have been on San Helios for five days, and these are the best five days she's had in months. Her plan is to convince the Doctor that they should stay for a while longer, maybe a whole month! The disquiet she's picked up from Dougie worries her, and she knows a real break would do them all some good.

The Doctor hums his appreciation at her embrace while he's still working on making the drinks. He had spent all morning 'improving' the appliances because he knows they are going to be here a while. It isn't difficult to pick up on his wife's wishes, and after New York and the Daleks, he's inclined to avoid trouble for awhile himself.

The cabana that he secured for them is actually a compound of five buildings, the four guest spaces clustered around a central communal area that contained their kitchen, lounge, pool, and media area. They can rent boats, flyers, or the local version of the horse for day trips on the slow path, or they can use the transmat in the corner to move more rapidly to locations across the globe.

Donna wasn't so sure about the whole idea of being 'Star Treked' all over the place, as she put it; but when she and Jack finally went on their date, the arrival at the restaurant without a single hair out of place or her dress rumpled instantly swayed her to excited acceptance. They had enjoyed a glorious meal at a restaurant that Jack had picked. Arranging to have the most romantic package they offered, (thanks to the unlimited credit stick the TARDIS had magicked up for them) they spent the night feeding each other tidbits and getting very happy on the local mead.

The restaurant had their own live band and dance floor; so once done with dinner and slightly more sober, Jack took Donna downstairs for hours of dancing. They were finally treated to a spectacular double sunset as they swayed to their own music, much more interested in each other. Squeezing all the fun out of the night as was possible, they transmatted back to the cabana to find it completely empty. Rose and the Doctor had left with similar plans to the other side of the planet and weren't back yet. Dougie was still off in the interior on a waterfall sightseeing trip designed to rest the mind as well as the body.

Jack was content to leave Donna with a goodnight kiss and head to his own quarters. The night had been perfection, he couldn't ask for a better first date. He was surprised though when Donna kept hold of his hand and led him backwards toward her room. Stopping them at the door, he wants to make sure that she isn't still tipsy. Donna means too much to him to lose her on a wine-induced flight of fancy.

"Donna, are you sure? This  _was_  only our first real date, and trust me, I'm happy to go wherever you lead, but I don't want you to have any regrets in the morning," he told her, whispering against her lips as she draped her arms around his neck.

Ever since that debacle at Adipose Industries, Donna had been feeling more and more bold toward Jack. She'd been initiating the hugs, taking his hand, and even dragged him around a corner a couple of times to snog the life out of him. He always took it in stride, but never pressed the situation. She kind of wanted him to. The thought of him slinging her over his shoulder and marching off, thrilled a part of her that she didn't often listen to. She was much more comfortable with being the one in charge.

Where men were concerned, her inclination, even before Lance, had been to badger them until they agreed to take her on a date. Lance was the first one that actually continued to go out with her, but he'd had an agenda. Before Jack, she was certain she was done with men for a while…a long while. But this was Jack, and he was different. He made her blush and giggle like a schoolgirl! Who would believe it, Donna Noble, giggling? She had lived in a constant state of butterflies since that kiss on New New Earth.

So, when he asked her, oh so politely, if she was sure, all the butterflies landed, the blush faded, and the giggles stilled…she was sure alright, damn sure.

"The only thing I will regret Harkness, is not having that fine naked arse your always goin' on about  ** _not_**  in my bed when I wake up in the morning. You get my meaning, Sunshine?" she said slowly and quite clearly, making sure he heard every word…idiot man.

"Ma'am, yes Ma'am!" With a brilliant grin that blinds Donna to what he's doing, he bent his knees and scooped her up like she weighed nothing. Toeing the door open and then closed behind them, he walked straight to her bed, and threw them both onto it. The surprised giggle that breaks up their kiss momentarily is only one of many as Jack showed Donna exactly how wonderful he thinks she is.

That was three days ago. Now, everyone is very comfortable with the routine of breakfast together, then maybe splitting into groups to go do a day trip, the Doctor working on the TARDIS, and dinners split up between the couples. Rose was still worried that Dougie would be feeling left out even on his tour, but the Doctor assures her that the time alone is actually going to do him a lot of good.

The Dalek adventure turned out to be hardest on Dougie. It was so soon after all the work the Sidhe had done in his mind, he was ill prepared for them and their boundless enmity. Sec's death and the deaths of the other Dalek/human hybrids had affected him more than he'd thought, and that great loss of potential wounded him. Even the Doctor's previous tale of the Time War in no way primed him for their reality.

Dougie spent a great deal of time trying to rationalise their behaviour, but he just couldn't. There was no need, no purpose he could come up with that would justify their desires. He couldn't meditate, he couldn't sleep, and was having a really hard time even eating when they first reached San Helios. The Doctor though, Tana bless him, noticed his unhappiness. On their second day, the Doctor asked Dougie to take a walk with him. They climbed for a couple of hours into the rainforest until they reached a small spring and waterfall. The water cascaded from a height of about 4 meters, but the spring was so small that it reached the rocky bottom as mist, and the little secluded glade was alive with rainbows.

The Doctor had then spent several more hours answering each and every one of Dougie's questions, no matter how rhetorical. He'd held him through the storm of his grief for more than just the dead hybrids, and he simply understood. Dougie was so grateful. He could tell that this openness was out of character for the Doctor, which made the gift so much more precious. Once Dougie had recovered himself, they began the walk back.

On the return trip, the Doctor suggested a spiritual tour that was offered of all the waterfalls on the planet. Apparently, thousands of years ago, the waterfalls were revered as especially sacred places. Though the religion has long since passed into memory, the people of San Helios still respected and honoured the spirit of water on their planet; made sense with three suns. Thinking the cleansing nature of the tour would be good for Dougie, the Doctor suggested they would be staying for a month at least, so the three week trip would fit right in. A much lighter and happier Dougie joined them for an evening meal that night, excitedly talking about the tour and packing to leave with the next tour opening.

They had just seen Dougie off on the transmat two days ago, and so far everyone is consumed with the lassitude of well relaxed good times, good food, and good drinks. After moving her lounger to the shade, Rose comes back in and helps prepare some food to go along with the drinks. As she moves around the central space setting up the table with various plates of fruit, cheeses, bread, and of course biscuits, she hums to herself tunelessly.  _/What would the Doctor do without biscuits?/_  she thinks teasingly. Several times she passes by the TARDIS, and on a couple of occasions she reaches out a hand to lightly brush the surface of the familiar blue box lovingly.

The Doctor shut down all the main systems once they had unpacked into the cabana. Currently, the Doctor is busily running a series of diagnostics on everything he can think of. He mentioned that he's been avoiding some of these essential diagnostics for close to a century, so no time like the present. Rose can just feel Darling against the edges of her consciousness, much less than usual, almost like She's sleeping. She doesn't know if a TARDIS ever needs to sleep, but that is what the subdued connection reminds her of. Patting Her one more time, Rose calls everyone in for nibbles.

After a few more hours filled with chasing, swimming, splashing, and not getting stung this time around by the jellyfish, the two couples opt for a double date at a posh restaurant in San Helios City. The wardrobe is still accessible, so everyone troops in to get dressed with plans to meet at the transmat in an hour. The Doctor whinged a bit about being forced to wear a tux, "But you know what happened last time I wore the tux. Remember Chelsea 426? It's jinxed!"

"So wear a different tux, you pillock," Donna tosses at him over her shoulder on her way to find a pretty dress. Jack already agreed to the tux idea readily, so he thinks the Doctor is being a bit silly. He knows exactly how good he looks in them. Really, who didn't?

"Please, Doctor? Donna's right, just pick a different tuxedo. They can't all be tuxes of doom," Rose says to him, teasingly running her hands through his hair as she kisses him into submission. He leans toward her as she turns with a flirty flick of hips and follows Donna.

Sighing, the Doctor stuffs his hands in his pockets and marches off toward the wardrobe, Jack following close behind. "I didn't think you'd argue for long, Doc," he says with a smirk.

"You watch, Harkness. Something bad will happen, and we'll be running for our lives in fancy dresses and tuxedos. I'm keeping my trainers; luckily I have black ones," he tosses over his shoulder with a smirk of his own.

The boys are finished before the girls, of course, so Jack whips them up a couple of pre-dinner banana daiquiris while they wait for their dates. They're contemplating making one more batch as the door to the TARDIS opens and two goddesses step out from it.

Rose and Donna are gratified by the open mouthed amazement on both their men's faces. Rose has on a cocktail length gown that shades from a bright peacock blue at the hem to the darkest emerald at the one shoulder. Clasping the dress closed is a pair of matching peacock brooches twining beaks. The very edge of the hem is beaded with tiny iridescent beads that sparkle mysteriously as she swirls the skirt to the Doctor's delight.

Donna is in a deceptively simple floor length cobalt blue gown that fits all of her curves to perfection, and when she spins for Jack, the skirt splits in six places revealing micro-pleated silk chiffon in an even darker blue. The effect feels almost risqué as the weight of the silk hides the pleats away as soon as the dress comes to rest.

Rose did their hair and makeup and she is particularly proud of how Donna's look came out. Donna had argued that she didn't like makeup and her hair was fine down, it was always down. Rose, on the other hand, played the "trust me, my mum did this for a living" card and Donna finally gave in. The effect with Donna's hair—a mass of dark red curls drawn up high her head with just a few to frame her face—has her looking like she should be carved in marble and worshipped in Ancient Greece. Keeping her makeup simple, Donna was just as surprised earlier as Jack is now at the result, and the hug she'd given Rose had nearly knocked the air out of her.

Rose kept her own hair down but in a low ponytail pulled back by another peacock. She was very pleased with the reactions and excited to get going, her stomach letting out a most unladylike growl. Everyone chuckling, they make their way to the transmat and have just vanished in a swirl of light when Dougie walks in to the central area.

He's just seen the shimmer, and realises he's missed his friends. Oh well, he only stopped by because the tour is actually camped at the waterfall the Doctor had taken him to, and he thought he'd stop in to say hello and pick up a couple of items from his room while he was so close. With a shrug, he moves into the TARDIS, making his way to his room.

He has just reached his door when he notices Romana standing at the end of the hallway, like she's waiting for him.

"Hello, my Lady Romana. Everyone else is away for the evening, may I be of assistance?" he asks politely with a little bow in her direction. He has several hours before he needs to be back to the camp, so whatever Romana needs, he's sure he can be of help.

Her expression lights up in enthusiasm and she nods; turning, she beckons him to follow her. Dougie is a little confused by her silence, but he has only met her the once; perhaps this is normal. Not wanting to appear rude, he eagerly follows her through the TARDIS' faintly lit echoing halls. She is much quieter when She is powered down.

Finally reaching a door, Romana pantomimes him open it and going through.  _/Well, of course, she's a hologram, she would just walk through it,/_ he thinks to himself. Feeling a bit silly, Dougie opens the door and enters a sort of glass antechamber that leads into a vast space containing immense golden crystals. He wonders if this is the Matrix he has overheard the Doctor and Rose mention a few times. It is marvellously beautiful and more enormous than he thought possible. This amazing Ship continues to surprise him.

Finally looking around for Romana, he sees her smiling indulgently at his appraisal of the Matrix. She gestures at a row of equipment hanging on one of the walls and mimics putting one on her head so Dougie will understand.

"Oh, I wear this to access the Matrix?" he asks her. He's a little unsure, not being here with the Doctor or Rose, but Romana is a trusted friend; surely they would understand his helping her.

Receiving another nod of agreement, he affixes one to his skull and follows Romana to the next door. Placing his palm against the panel beside it, the door slides open silently and he enters the Matrix itself. The quiet hush of the crystals is very intriguing and he would love to have hours to study their particular composition and attributes. He is interrupted in his musings by a vaguely annoyed looking Romana who is gesturing pointedly at a column that has risen from the floor while he was distracted.

Again she mimes that he should lay his palm on one of the surfaces.

"I place my palm here and then I will see you in the Matrix? I assume our interaction will be more complete there, my Lady? Is there a problem that is causing you to be unable to speak?" he asks her, hoping that he will be able to help. It would be bothersome to have to pantomime everything, and without the Doctor to fix whatever is wrong, she probably thinks he will just have to make do.

A smile that does not reach her eyes graces her lips as she nods again in agreement. Happy that he can help her, he places his hand directly against a facet of the crystal. Dougie's body goes rigid as the power of the Matrix flows into him, Pandora spreads her lips over her teeth in a feral grin of triumph as she transitions from the Matrix's antechamber to the Matrix itself.

Finding himself in a blackness completely unbroken, Dougie is rooted in place, seemingly paralysed. Confused and feeling the beginnings of fear, a shudder of terror races up his spine as a cold smug voice comes out of nowhere right behind his left ear, "Now, I've got you."


	14. Taken

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Dougie has been captured in the Matrix. More rides on his ability to defeat his opponent than just his life.

**14 Taken**

In a flash of blue light, four somewhat inebriated, very giggly people appear on the transmat at the corner of the cabana. Jack and Donna giggle, whisper, and wave at the Time Lords on their way to bed. The evening has been perfect. Rose and the Doctor slept a couple of nights ago, so they aren't ready for bed yet, but they're enjoying the buzz they've allowed themselves to have.

Chuckling at the other couple, they decide to head out to the beach for a bit of a walk. Rose suggests leaving their shoes at the cabana. Sliding her heeled sandals off, she then kneels at the Doctor's feet to roll his trousers up. Rolling her eyes up to look at him, she sees he's giving her that suggestive grin he gets when he thinks he's about to get away with something. Taking the opportunity to goose him behind the knees, she gets to her feet when he dances away from her. Tongue firmly planted in her teeth, Rose wiggles her fingers at the Doctor and they head off down the beach.

None of them noticed one of the TARDIS doors being slightly open, or the choppy, distorted image of an older Romana trying to call out to them. Frustrated, she leaves off after watching Rose and the Doctor leave. With the TARDIS powered down, she doesn't have the energy to be heard past the doors. They'll be back in the morning. Hopefully she'll be able to get their attention then-hopefully it won't be too late.

* * *

"Hmmmmmmm…What shall I do with you?"

The voice moves away from behind Dougie, but he can't tell to where. Then he feels something brush across his chest ever so lightly. He can't stop the way his skin twitches at the almost gentle touch. Dougie tries to speak, but his body doesn't respond.

"So helpful of Romana to make note of the addition of a  _Tanu_  to the crew. It would have been more difficult to lure one of the Time Lords here, but you, you're so out of your time  _and_  telepathic; that's all that matters now." This comes from in front of him, and he feels two hands slide over his shoulders and down his arms. It is in this moment that he realises he's nude. He remembers preparing to enter the Matrix, and then a shock of sensation as he assumed he was engaging the interface, but is he in the Matrix now, and who is this woman? She doesn't sound like Romana.

"I briefly thought about taking the new Time Lady-Rose. She saw me in the Matrix when I still wasn't ready—very irritating, but the TARDIS would have seen; Romana and the Doctor would have fought me. I'm not ready for that yet. I've had to advance my plan much more quickly than I would have preferred, but then the idiot Time Lord shut the TARDIS down—perfect!" Laughing outright, she continues to move around Dougie in his complete darkness like a stalking animal.

/ _Okay, definitely in the Matrix, and this can not be Romana,/_  he thinks to himself as he continues to catalogue sensations and variables.

"I should apologise for telling you all this, it won't make it easier…for you. The privilege I am about to bestow on you is more than anything your inferior race would have ever been able to attain on your own. You and I will soon be one. It is unfortunate that you will be lost in the process, but really, you are past your expiration date. Oh, and it will probably hurt," she says matter-of-factly.

Dougie tries to feel out with his mind, probing around himself to determine his surroundings. He must get control of the situation somehow; there must be a way that he still has influence. She isn't in his mind yet, but he can feel the vast presence of her hovering just outside his awareness. He doesn't know what she's waiting for; but so long as she's talking, he might have a chance

"Now, now…none of that," she whispers directly into his face. The brush of breath across his face, almost close enough to kiss. The mental slap throws him back into himself painfully. He would wince, but those muscles don't work either…which means he isn't blind or in the dark; his eyes are actually still closed. Shoring up his mental shielding, Dougie waits to see what she'll do next.

"Do you know the Time Lords tried to kill me  _three_  times? They have yet to succeed. Do you know why? Because I am better, I am smarter, and I have a vision no one else is capable of; but above all…I am patient—I am Pandora. You have no idea how many millennia I have waited. Helpful that the Doctor did most of the work for me. Gallifrey is gone and I survived—oh, the irony." The smugness in her voice makes it sound like it was her idea.

"Alright, I'm ready to begin. You see, I need to break your mind so that I can suppress you into nonexistence. I am not familiar with your species' flavour of consciousness yet, though; so these next few exercises will tell me how your mind works, and how best I can take it. You aren't a Time Lord, so I can't imagine you'll last long. You won't enjoy it, but I know I will. Are you ready? Good."

Out of nowhere, he feels her slam into his mind from all sides. She's a crushing force, pressing down on his barriers with all her might. In an instant, all of his focus is a razor's edge of his will against hers, fighting against any cracks she might find. He thinks he might feel a tiny loathsome tendril snake its way in, but he strikes back, stopping it and plugging the hole. They struggle like this for what feels like the longest hours of his life.

Suddenly, she's gone. Slowly relaxing his hold on his defences, he's pleased to find they've held up remarkably well. He's fought mental battles before, against the Firvulag, but that was many years ago even when not counting the lost millennia. Mental sparring amongst his own Tanu was generally in the spirit of exercising one's skills. This unprovoked onslaught, with the intent to subvert him, is a completely new experience.

He can't let her win. No one knows he's in the TARDIS. They all think him free and healing in the wilds of the planet. With the TARDIS quiet, there is no one here to help him. He doesn't know who this creature is or how she took Romana's shape, but he must persevere. She wants Rose, which probably means she wants the TARDIS, too. That means she will probably try to kill everyone else. Dougie has no idea if any of that's possible, but she certainly seems confident in her abilities. And he will NOT let her hurt anyone, if it costs him his last breath.

Not completely lost in his musings, Dougie is braced for another attack, but he has no clue where she is or where it will come from next. That thought has just played through his mind as he feels the air around him heat up, the sound of flames everywhere when the flesh on his arms starts to blister. He can't move, only scream silently, locked in his mind.

* * *

During the night, Rose and the Doctor walked for what must have been miles along the deserted beaches. With three suns, it was almost never truly dark, so when the red giant set just before the twins rose, the sky was a blended cobalt and pink with gold tinged clouds—it had been lovely. So lovely in fact, they had made gorgeous, languid love in the mingled light; perfectly alone, with the waves and seabirds their only observers.

"Thank you so much for bringing us here. It's sort of like our honeymoon. First chance we've had to just…relax, enjoy each other," she tells him as she snuggles closer to his side.

"I don't know too many couples that bring friends along on their honeymoon and we had weeks afterward to ourselves," he teases her. Kissing her head as they relax on his coat, completely nude in the faint breeze, he tightens his embrace, also enjoying the moment.

"You mean the month of shagging?" she says, giggling. "This is just as nice, but more  _relaxing,_ and I like having our friends along," she teases back, the tip of tongue just visible in her smile. "Having them all here, it just feels right." He can feel that though her tone is happy, her emotions are more subdued.

"You're thinking about your mum and Pete."

"Yeah, I miss them." Rose sighs, but stays where she is. She isn't going to let an old ache ruin this time together. Flipping over so she's draped over his belly, she starts kissing her way up towards his face. "But I have you— _kiss_ —Donna— _kiss_ —Dougie— _kiss_ —and…"

Tickling her to make her stop the inappropriate kissing, he teases, "I think Jack's getting enough of his own kisses, thank you. I don't need one for him  _on me_ , or anyone else's! I just want your kisses, Rose Tyler. All of them!"

Abruptly rolling over so he's resting above her on his elbows, he proves his point, snogging her breathless. They grin at each other as they regain their breath and Rose has one more concern to air.

"You're sure Dougie's okay, doing his own thing? He seemed a lot better after you talked, but I'm still worried about him."

"I'm sure he's fine; having the time of his life. Now, if you don't mind, I think you just interrupted my process, Ms. Tyler."

"Oh did I, Doctor? Well, we can't have that. Where were we? Oh yes, I think we were about…here?" She started off teasing, but by the end of her statement her voice is low and sultry as she takes matters in hand.

"Oh!" the Doctor squeaks. "I think that's a great place to start."

Now, as they approach the cabana from the beach, it's about 8 A.M local time—much too early to expect Donna and Jack to be up. Rose and the Doctor planned on showering and then starting breakfast for everyone, but those plans are immediately put on hold when they see one of the TARDIS doors open and no one around.

"Doctor? Did we leave the TARDIS open last night?" Rose asks as they get closer to the cabana.

"No, I specifically remember you closing the door after you and Donna came out to wow us," he says slowly, brow furrowed as he looks toward the their ship.

"Is there some sort of distortion at the door? I don't like this, Doctor. I'm going to go check and make sure Donna and Jack are okay."

"Yep." He's obviously distracted as he changes angles to come at the TARDIS so he can't be seen through the open doorway.

Rose hurries to the door of Jack and Donna's room in the cabana, but she doesn't need to open it as they are snoring softly in counterpoint. Snorting to herself in amusement and relief, Rose circles quietly around to the other side of the TARDIS from the Doctor.

 _-They're fine; snoring away-_ she sends him, not wanting to make anymore noise if they are about to surprise an intruder.

He doesn't answer, but nods at her. Holding up his hand to keep her in place, he reaches forward and slams the other door open, dropping to a crouch.

The console room is still on standby lighting, and is completely empty. Abruptly, a distorted and choppy image of a very distressed older Romana crackles into view. They can see her lips moving, but can only pick up every few words.

"Doctor!—-trapped—in the—"

"Who's trapped? We're only catching a few words. Go more slowly," he tells her as he returns to his feet.

"Dougie—-Matrix—-Lured—-Pandora!"

"Oh my God, Doctor," Rose breathes. "We have to get to him."

Romana vehemently gestures in the negative.

"Trapped—-power up—-TARDIS—-help—Pandora—trap you—enter—-Matrix"

"Shit! Shitty, shit,  **shit**!" the Doctor blurts out, pulling at his hair while pacing. "Think, think, think! See Rose, this is exactly why I never shut Her down. Something always happens!Always...And I wore a tuxedo last night! What was he even  _doing_  here?"

"Well, just boot Her back up. Can't you do that?"

"Of course, I can, but it will take at least 24 hours for Her to fully reintegrate the interface. She isn't… _here_  right now. That's why I was running all the diagnostics on the mechanicals. It works better when She's not everywhere during it."

"Like starting up in Safe Mode," Rose points out.

"What? Oh, yes, heh, yes it is exactly like that, my clever Rose," he spares her a quick smile before he resumes his pacing and hair tugging.

"Doctor—-isolate?" Romana suggests.

"What? Oh…Oh! Of course…you're brilliant, you are!" The Doctor starts hopping around the console grabbing a couple of items, and then half falls, half runs down the steps leading to the under-console.

Following him, Rose grabs his regular tool kit on the way. He's going to need it and she doesn't want to have to go back for it.

"Doctor, what are you isolating?" she asks, following him down the stairs.

"Romana's suggestion is to isolate the Matrix relays. They are powered on a completely separate system, so I should be able to cut their power for a few moments. So long as I reestablish power in, ummm…48.265 seconds, the crystals won't lose their integrity."

"That isn't much time, Doctor."

"Oh, it's plenty of time. Can get loads done in nearly a minute…Ouch!…The outage will disconnect the coronet, which has a built in safety feature to pull the user out during a power failure without sustaining brain damage." Looking over his shoulder at the striated and shifting Romana, he asks, "I assume you tried to enter?"

"Yes—-blocked"

"You know, if you'd succeeded while she's in control, she'd have you, too," he says to her while he's fiddling with a handful of wires, but he looks at her over his specs as he finishes.

Romana shrugs. "Maybe—-maybe not."

As the Doctor moves one more relay and plugs the newly rewired mass in, there's an enormous shower of sparks, and a groan from the TARDIS as the cloister bell tolls twice.

"No, No, NO! Rose, my offset spanner and the expanding clamps, now!"

Handing him the tools, he frantically starts undoing what he just did, but the new connection has fused and he must break it apart. Levering the spanner under the bundle of smoking sparking wires, he jams it in. With a ferocious effort, he cranks it apart, but not before there's another surge that shoots him tumbling out from under the console and right through Romana, a good two meters across the room.

"Doctor!" Rose cries, throwing herself toward the smoking, slightly singed, and frighteningly still form. Just as she reaches him, he twitches and moans, flopping over onto his back.

"Doctor! Oh my god! Are you alright? You scared me," she tells him as she runs a light hand over his brow. He doesn't appear to be burned anywhere.

"Yeah, the uh…relays were unresponsive," he manages after a moment.

"Unresponsive? That didn't look unresponsive," she replies, checking him over for injuries. His fingertips might be a bit cooked, but otherwise he seems fine, if a touch toasted.

"Feedback. Shouldn't have done that if the power was going through them properly, instead it fed back through the same relays, crossing polarities… **BLAMMO**!" he shouts, throwing his hands in the air before he lets them fall back to his sides where he's still laying in the floor. "Oh, I hurt."

"But, I don't understand how…"

"Pandora," Romana says simply.

The Doctor goes rigid under Rose's administering hands.

"Doctor, what? What is it?"

"It hadn't occurred to me it could be her….mmmmuuuhhhnnn," he groans. "Oh, this is not good; nope, not good at all. Pandora has access to systems right now that the TARDIS would normally be inhabiting. Currently we are only running on mechanicals, and she has figured out how to use the TARDIS' pathways to get control of them."

Eyes getting huge, Rose feels her hearts flutter. "Can she fly the TARDIS?"

"Oh! No, no, no. Thank everything that's holy, no. Once the TARDIS is powered back up, She'll fill all those pathways completely. No, but she can keep us from helping Dougie."

"Is that why Romana isn't clear, because of Pandora?"

"No, actually that's my fault, too! Dammit! With everything shut down, Romana is having to bounce her holographic capabilities between the physical cameras, and they are all on standby. That's why she looks like she's all bits and pieces. Sorry," he says directly to Romana, who shrugs again.

With another groan and a wince at the singed fingertips he now notices, the Doctor stands and makes his wobbly way up the stairs to drop bonelessly onto the jump seat. Rose follows him, asking if he needs anything; but he just shakes his head before letting it fall it into his hands. Rose drops down onto the seat next to him as Romana transitions to upstairs.

Turning the situation over in her head, Rose starts having an idea. "Okay, so we can't interact with Dougie telepathically, right?" Rose asks both of them.

Romana nods her head as the Doctor replies with a muffled, "Right."

"Can we interact with him physically?" Rose asks, thinking furiously.

Romana starts to frantically shake her head, and the Doctor's own snaps up with an alarmed look and a similar negative on his lips.

"No, wait. I don't mean to unhook him and drag him out. That would leave him brain dead." Nods on both sides from the Doctor and Romana at Rose's assumption.

"Do you think he could hear us though, if one of us went in and told him what to do? Could he receive instructions?"

Romana is still as she thinks, and the Doctor is staring at Rose with the look that means his eyes are on her, but his mind is spinning a million miles an hour elsewhere. Blinking, his eyebrows shoot up into his hairline.

"Brain!" he blurts out.

"Brain? Yes, he has one…I don't…"

"No, no, no! The Matrix! It's like a huge brain…The crystals are like neurones and the inter-dimensional pathways the axons…and what does Dougie do so well? He heals brains! His race is uniquely skilled at it, in fact. Their methods are completely unlike anything any other species has ever developed. He might not only be able to get himself out, but he… _could get rid…of Pandora,"_ the Doctor emphasises _._ "He could just burn her out of the Matrix entirely!" Leaping to his feet in his excitement, he grabs Rose and swings her around. "Oh, my brilliant Rose, you; you're impressive."

Romana waves at them to get their attention. She doesn't look as confident as the Doctor though, which dampens Rose's enthusiasm a touch. Pointing at her throat, she deliberately says, "Torc," and shakes her head in a negative.

"Oh, you don't know!" the Doctor begins excitedly. "Dougie met the Sidhe! There was a little misunderstanding where they nearly fried his brain, but in compensation, they not only fixed the damage, but made him fully operant! For all intents and purposes, he's a Lené or more, now. He no longer wears his torc. It will make him infinitely stronger, and I bet that Pandora has no idea, what she actually has in her hands." A slow toothy grin spreads over the Doctor's face at the thought of finally being rid of this parasite.

Romana is wearing a stunned expression as she mulls over the new data. Nodding slowly, she smiles at the Doctor and Rose as well, now agreeing that they may have a plan.

"I don't think  _Dougie_  has any idea what he's capable of yet, either, Doctor," Rose points out. "I'm going to go get Donna."

"What? Why? You know how bellow-y she gets when she's woken up early. Especially after the one they tied on last night." The alarmed look on his face at the thought of dealing with a rampaging Donna on top of what has already happened is comical.  _/It'd had the makings of a really spectacular day just on hour ago, too_ ,/ he thinks to himself with a sigh.

"Because we only have one non-telepath in the group. How strange a sentence is that?" Rose says, making her way to the infirmary, wanting to be ready with the hangover remedy.

Heading out through the TARDIS doors, cure in hand, she smiles at the Doctor on her way by. "I'll be back in a mo," she says, walking in the direction of Donna and Jack's room where she knocks softly.

" _WHAT_? Go away!" Romana and the Doctor soon hear from the safety of the TARDIS. After more muffled talking and then another, " _ **WHAT'S**  HAPPENED_? Bloody aliens! Always needin' help. Fine, FINE, yes I'm comin'. Move, you lump. There had better be a magic pill and coffee when I get out of the shower!" A slamming door notifies everyone that Donna has left the bed.

Looking over at Romana with a pinched expression and much paler than a moment before, the Doctor says, "Told you…bellow-y"

Romana only nods, a very amused expression sometimes visible on her face.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Only two chapters left after this one. I hope you've enjoyed this story and thank you for sticking with me. Enjoy!


	15. Tables Turned

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Dougie finds strength he didn't know he had, with a little help from Donna.

**15 Turning Tables**

Dougie has absolutely no awareness of how long he's been trapped in the hell that has become his mind. He has endured burning flames, wretched cold, biting somethings, terrifying storms, a variety of electrical discharges, and just now, drowning—all in complete darkness. The only thing keeping him upright is his body's inability to move. He has even stopped praying to Tana; wherever he is or however he is here, no one is coming to help him.

It isn't in him to simply give up; he has to survive. No one may be coming for him, but once Pandora is done with him, she'll go after everyone else—using him. They are depending on him. He endures, and she has yet to break him. She keeps going on about how much she's learning. How it won't be much longer now. How interesting it is, that the Tanu are so resilient. She'd not realised all her new package would be capable of doing. He really wants to strangle her, which is not typically in his nature.

She wouldn't shut up, and he couldn't shut her out. He was learning about her as well. So confident in her superiority and success, she just keeps blithering on about her magnificence. How they had called her Imperatrix. How she had subverted the Gallifreyan people, wanting to throw down Rassilon's laws of non-intervention—complete pacifist rubbish, in her opinion. They were the Lords of Time. They wouldn't have such power if they weren't meant to use it. She told him about how they had dispersed her as punishment while he was being eaten alive by things he couldn't see.

She explained exactly how she'd kept a copy of herself in the original Matrix. How she'd worked for centuries to create the perfect vessel for herself—Romana.

That had startled Dougie. He knew Romana had nothing to do with his current predicament, but this revelation worried him. Pandora had worked tirelessly to bend Romana to her will, and had almost succeeded until she was betrayed and the little civil war she started was put down by Romana's allies. Then, Romana and the Lady Professor had the audacity to destroy the Matrix. Pandora knew they wouldn't really. There had to be a copy somewhere.

Of course, she was right. She loved telling Dougie how right she was. How she copied herself again, no matter that they thought their copy was clean—she was there. And she's been biding her time ever since. That is until Rose found her, discovering her in the pattern. Grudgingly, Pandora admitted even she was impressed with Rose's deduction.

She is being unusually quiet at the moment. Talking is bad enough, but silence is terrifying. Dougie almost considers reaching out from the safety of his shields, when suddenly his eyes pop open and a scene of utter destruction and carnage unfolds around him. He's standing on a battlefield, surrounded by the dead and dying. They look human, but Dougie thinks they might actually be Gallifreyan. He's Tanu, so she knows he's exceptionally empathic; it won't matter who the dead are, just being dead…or dying is enough to wound him.

Only his eyes obey him now, he still can't move; even to turn his head. Abruptly, the rest of his senses are bombarded by input. The stink of burning flesh, the cries of the wounded, the concussive tremors of heavy weapon's fire in the distance. And now he hears something else, something quick and furtive, a snuffling sort of sound—an animal of some kind. Still behind him, he hears the sounds of growling, chewing and the breaking of bones. There is a sudden cry that is quickly and gurglingly cut off. Well, whomever the beast is currently munching on is now unaware at least. Dougie  _knows_  this is all illusion. None of it is real, but that doesn't stop his heart from aching. This had happened somewhere, for it to appear this real.

A woman steps into view. She is tall and lean with very sharp features, dark eyes, and smooth dark hair that is tight to her head. She is wearing a set of dark red robes that may be satin; they look slick, almost blood-like in the sickening light of the sun…no, suns, their murky light making its way through the clouds of smoke. Her face is set into a smirk that has not a shred of regard for the havoc around her—a cold disdain that many would classify as evil. She has already proven to Dougie that she has no mercy or sanity left in her, so the expression fits. This must be Pandora. Finally he can put her own face to his thoughts. It was hard to not associate Romana with the voice, but this face is so much more appropriate.

"Do you like it?" she asks him, running a finger across her jaw line. "It is my favourite of the faces I've worn. Darkel, she was so weak. I took her easily. She was hungry for power, for recognition and I gave it to her, just not in the way she imagined," laughing, Pandora turns a little circle, surveying her surroundings.

"I made this just for you, my dear Tanu. The field of your Great Combat is so clean in comparison. I thought you might like to see a  _real_  battlefield. This is just the first layer though. I have  _much_  more planned," she tells him, smiling as she surveys her work.

"You are proving much stronger than I expected. This is good and bad. Good, once you're mine, but bad in that I am feeling impatient. Since physical stimuli wasn't working, let's try this…"

From his periphery Dougie notices movement, and from his right a blonde woman pulling a young child along beside her with another silent bundle in her arms is running as best she can through the chaos of the debris littered landscape. The little blonde girl whose hand is clenched in mother's is wailing as she's being dragged along. Tripping on a fallen man, the woman yanks the child up by the arm, urging her to keep her feet. She looks to be six or seven years old.

Dougie doesn't want to see this, doesn't want to see what Pandora is going to do to them just to hurt him, but he can't look away either. Every muscle in his body that he doesn't have control over is thrumming in pent up energy—desperate to run and help the little family.

Abruptly a hole opens in the ground at the feet of the mother, and a dirt coloured, scaled creature reaches upward, taking hold of the woman and assumed infant before disappearing with them below the surface. In a final desperate act, the mother throws the young girl as far from her as possible and is then gone—hardly a sound escaping from the unlikely trio as the disturbed ground closes back over the trap.

Completely absorbed in their plight and desperately wanting to lend aid, Dougie is still immobilised. Pandora is not. As the silent and grisly scene begins, she is at his side attempting to use this distraction to gain entry into his mind. She sends out thousands of little mental jabs. Part of him continues watching the horror unfold before him since he has no choice, but the rest of his mind begins the tedious job of warding off the incursions. This is only another variation of the same attacks and Dougie is well able to handle it. Unfortunately, this is exactly how Pandora had hoped he would respond.

Now, as a pack of small furry scavengers surround the terrified and weeping child to begin nipping at her hoping to bring her down, Dougie's level of empathetic terror ratchets up a notch and the hold on his shields slips just enough—Pandora pounces. Leaving him no room to escape, she splits all of her attacks into more and more pieces, leaving them to burrow into his shields from as many places as possible.

Dougie ignores his eyes as several Daleks appear through the smoke and fog. His remaining attention snaps away from the illusion as he feels his shields begin to crack and weaken. Pulling tightly back into himself, all he can do is shore up his defences and try to fend off the tendrils that get through. He did not fight in the Grand Combat of his people, he doesn't know how to utilise his mind as a lethal weapon. Why would he ever do such a thing? In this instant he realises just how vulnerable he is, and this belief weakens him further.

As Pandora's onslaught doubles again in intensity, Dougie notices a new sensation coming from the core of himself. Reaching for it with a portion of his awareness, he spirals down into the most basic bodily processes. Suddenly he hears Donna's voice calling to him. Focusing on it makes it clearer, and he clings to her words like a lifeline.

"Oi, you daft alien! The Doctor says the Matrix is just a big brain," she's yelling at him. "A great bloody big brain, so FIX IT! He says place both hands on the link…BOTH HANDS!"

What is she saying? The Matrix is a brain? Oh, a brain! The Doctor is trying to tell him that the Matrix functions similarly to a brain. He can use his own skills to fix it. He should be able purge them of Pandora and get himself out! That's bloody brilliant! The only problem is how? Continuing to feel along this connection that continues to bring him Donna's voice, Dougie looks for his hands to strengthen that connection.

"I don't think he can hear me, Doctor. He's not movin'," Donna calls out.

"Repeat yourself one more time, Donna. Give him a chance to find you. He could be deep in there," the Doctor's voice comes over the comm.

"Repeat m'self one more time he says, fine. Oi, Dougie! The Matr…Doctor! He's movin'! His other hand is movin'!" Donna says excitedly, seeing Dougie's left hand inch toward the crystal column.

"Excellent! Now, get out of there!" the Doctor tells her. Not waiting around, she immediately turns and jogs back to the door of the antechamber.

Dougie's hand makes contact with the crystal pillar, and suddenly he's everywhere. He snaps through his mind and back out again until he can see all of the Matrix and beyond. He can see all the connections between the pieces of the Matrix itself and the connections between himself and the Matrix as differently coloured lines of influence. He sees the knot of his own energy as a brilliant purple surrounded by a mottled, bubbling and sickly pink. Around them are billions of silver axon-like threads of connection between the various neuron-crystals of the Matrix, terminating in golden synaptic balls at the points of meeting. It is ingenious, and it all suddenly, viscerally makes sense.

Dougie can feel his protective shields are close to collapse under the onslaught of so many of Pandora's attacking tendrils. With his newfound perspective, he can see many of the axons have tendrils of her pink running through them and he can see many hundreds of small neural bundles in the same sick pink scattered throughout the matrices. Likening this to the progression of a diseased mind, Dougie knows how to fix this.

From Pandora's perspective, the Tanu's shields were finally weakening. She can feel them beginning to get spongy under her heavy assault. But then the charged atmosphere around her suddenly changes and his shields go hard, solid, and opaque at the same time as she's viscously repulsed from his mind.

Furious, and letting the illusion go to concentrate her energy, she coils tightly around her energetic centre. Just as she's about to unleash the condensed fury of her might on this one puny and inferior mind, uncaring to its condition any longer, she feels her network of influence in the Matrix start to break up. One by one the storage nodes that she had hidden for centuries within are swallowed whole and removed from her net. She feels her influence lessening as each one of these nodes is removed from her power and the lines to them drained of her energy. Like drawing poison from a wound, Pandora feels herself being drawn into the Tanu. Clawing and fighting with all she's worth, she can find no foothold, no pocket in which she can hide. At the end of everything, she feels herself rendered into her smallest parts and drawn into the vastness that Dougie created within himself to contain her, and then she begins to burn.

* * *

The Doctor is monitoring Dougie's vitals closely on the dedicated terminal in the Matrix antechamber. The change in his internal systems is instant and drastic as he finds his purpose and begins to take the fight to Pandora. The Doctor lowers the temperature within the Matrix room a couple more degrees as Dougie begins to convert the energy he is removing from the Matrix (presumably Pandora) into heat to dissipate it. The Doctor remembers him doing the same in the Library when Dougie removed the emotional depth from the memories of the Time War, helping him to cope.

As they watch, the crystals in the Matrix room begin to take on a distinctly purple hue in addition to the previous gold. It appears to systematically be moving from crystal to crystal. Looking over to the Doctor, Rose wonders if this is a good thing. His eyes are glued to the progression, but she doesn't sense any distress from him.

"Fascinating," he says finally as he watches Dougie's body function at its peak efficiency even as he spreads himself throughout the Matrix.

"What was that?" Rose asks.

"Look at this, Rose," the Doctor says, pointing to the display. "I think Dougie is literally moving from crystal to crystal, drawing Pandora from the Matrix, through himself, and then burning her off in a heat exchange. All the while his body is functioning like he's on a light jog—it's fascinating and completely brilliant! Although I think he might be showing away a bit."

Laughing at her husband's egotistical grousing, Rose leans against him as they watch Dougie continue to do whatever it is he's doing.

They determined earlier that he'd been in there for more than 14 hours before Romana was able to warn them. The Doctor thinks he must have gotten trapped not long after they left the previous evening. Rose and the Doctor both are quick to feel guilty; but as Donna pointed out, they were on the other side of the planet or in the process of being "Star-Treked" there, so it was pretty stupid to feel guilty about it. "That's why it's called an accident, stupid," she'd said to them with her kindest sarcasm and her gentlest eye-roll.

After another hour, Dougie's temperature is starting to come down to a more normal range and the Doctor begins bringing the temperature back up in the room around him. The Matrix room is glowing a gold tinged purple, reminding Rose of the sunrise they had made love to earlier.

"Keep watching, Rose, as soon as he drops his hands or his eyes open, let me know, and I'll go get him."

Nodding to him, Rose keeps her focus on Dougie as the Doctor moves to stand by the door, glad he hadn't noticed her blush. She knows Dougie is going to need some time in the infirmary, if for nothing else than a little dehydration, but she knows the Doctor will want to run some scans just to make sure that the readings he's getting here are accurate.

"The entire Matrix just flashed purple, Doctor, and is now back to only gold! Eyes are opening and hands removed. Go Doctor, I think he's about to faint!" Rose says brusquely, seeing Dougie sway as the crystal column slides back into the floor.

Rushing through the door, the Doctor is at Dougie's side in a couple of seconds. Taking a quick moment to look around, the crystals appear to be back to their normal gold. Once he gets the TARDIS back up and running, they'll dig around and see if they can find anything different.

"Hello there, Dougie. Busy day?" the Doctor teases him, grinning up at his paler than normal friend.

"Doctor, I am glad to see you well. The others, are they safe?" Dougie replies, leaning heavily against the offered shoulder, looking tired but otherwise relieved.

"We're all fine. Now be a good chap, and let's get you to the Infirmary. Do you think you can walk?"

"Yes, yes, thank you, though I made need a little assistance," Dougie says as he takes his first wobbly step.

"Of course! You were in the Matrix for 15 hours, 56 minutes, and 19 seconds. I expect that wobbly may be the least of your concerns. I know psychopathic megalomaniacs always leave a bad taste behind," he imparts, tapping his on temple for emphasis.

"I am tired certainly, and sore, but I feel surprisingly well, considering. Although Doctor, she was never a kind person; and she showed me things…I would like to forget. Definitely a bad taste, as you say."

"I can imagine. She had a great many years of dissatisfaction to draw from. I am so sorry, Dougie. If I hadn't shut the TARDIS down, she couldn't have gotten you. Which by the way, how did she lure you in? We couldn't figure out why you would have gone to the Matrix. I had the TARDIS make it out of the way on purpose. It never occurred to me you could just wander in," the Doctor questions as they move from the Matrix room through the Antechamber. Rose holds the door open for them to enter the TARDIS' hallways and takes Dougie's other side as they head to the Infirmary.

"She appeared to me as Romana, but she didn't speak. She pantomimed that I should follow her and she then showed me how to access the interface," he explains.

"Did she look distorted or choppy, her image I mean? Rose asks.

"No, perhaps a bit more transparent, but I just took that to be the case with the TARDIS in Her current condition," he says, shaking his head.

"Hmmm…I will need to see how. She must have managed to make some connections that neither I nor the TARDIS were aware of. I wonder how she could have managed that? Should be impossible, but we know how often that's true around here. I'll look into it. Can't have anything like that happening again. So do you think you got her all out, Dougie?" the Doctor asks, still looking thoughtful as he contemplates possibilities with part of his mind.

"Doctor, I know for a fact that I did. I followed every one of her lines of influence to the smallest particle and removed it. There were quite a few that lead out of the Matrix, so that may have been how she accessed other portions of the ship. I will show you later," he tells the Doctor, who nods in thanks. "She makes the Daleks seem like schoolyard bullies with her determination to dominate and her insidious, tenacious instincts to survive. If she hadn't been one of the most depraved minds I have ever had the mischance to touch, I may have admired her abilities. Thank you for the nudge in the right direction. I was near to collapse before you helped remind me that I was the one in control. I will have to thank Donna for her vocal talents. She was able to cut right through Pandora's illusions," he says with a tired smile, the Doctor snorting in amusement on his right.

"Oh Dougie, I am so sorry you had to go through that," Rose says, squeezing him around the middle as they continue moving through the TARDIS.

"Rose, it was no one's fault. Pandora had been working toward this for centuries. It is providence that I was here. I do not say this to boast, but none of you would have survived your next visit to the Matrix. You said once, that the Universe had a plan for me, and I believe this was it."

The Doctor starts to protest and then stops himself—it's only his ego that wants to argue. Thinking about what Dougie said, he realises it's true. There is too much information about both he and Rose in the Matrix. Pandora would have known what their weaknesses were and would have been able to exploit them. They would have probably gone in together, and that would have been their first and biggest mistake. He couldn't have watched Pandora hurt Rose, and not have given her a foothold on him. He could have probably destroyed himself so she couldn't have him, but he couldn't have stopped her from taking Rose. The thought of what Pandora could have done if she'd occupied Rose causes him to shiver in terror and not only at the thought of losing his wife.

"We're almost there," the Doctor says out loud to distract from his reaction, acting like he stumbled.

Entering the Console room, they move around the grating to the Infirmary. They enter the doors just as the lights pop on, and from an open grate near the floor to the side they hear Jack's voice shout excitedly, "Got it!"

Crawling backwards out of the service shaft, Jack stands and brushes himself off. Turning, the pleased look on his face slides to worry and he rushes to Rose's side to help with Dougie.

"Where's Donna?" Rose asks, looking around the room and not seeing her friend.

"Starting breakfast. She thought we'd all be hungry when we got Dougie out," Jack replies, helping Dougie up onto the exam bed. "I was able to get the infirmary wired into the secondary power juncture just like you said Doctor, but your directions were complete crap!"

"Oi!" is the Doctor's indignant reply. Further commentary is cut off by the insistent beeping from the monitors that spring to life as Dougie relaxes back.

"Donna's right about that! I could eat for England." Rose says with a grin. "I'll go help. See you three outside in a few." Stepping to Dougie's side, she leans in to give him a quick peck on the cheek. "I'm glad you're safe, Dougie." A pale blush springs to his cheek at the contact and he smiles at her, nodding in agreement.

Sparing a moment, she quickly kisses the Doctor on her way by as she moves to leave the room, she's nearly at the door when Jack calls out, pouting, "Hey, where's mine?"

Pausing at the door, she calls over her shoulder, "Outside, making breakfast." Brightening the room a moment with the Tyler grin, she turns, leaving them to their ministrations.


	16. The Avialae and The Anthophila

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> With Dougie rescued, it's time to actually enjoy that vacation, but a surprise creates a little excitement first.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Last chapter everyone! Kudo's to those who figure out the chapter title. -grin- I have also included an author's note at the end. Thank you for taking this journey with me.

 

**16 The Avialae and The Anthophila**

Rose caught Donna up on Dougie's condition and the Pandora situation as they've been making breakfast; chatting away amiably while they chop fruit, slice bread, and whip eggs. Donna reaction to Dougie's praise of her vocal prowess was priceless. Rose is making a quiche and some banana muffins, knowing her husband will be delighted…silly man and his bananas.

Donna has just made a quip about teasing Jack while he was trying to figure out the Doctor's wiring schematic earlier, and she and Rose are both laughing when Rose suddenly gets a bizarre look on her face, dropping a bunch of bananas to the floor in her surprise.

"Rose, what is it?! What's wrong?" Donna asks, her knife clattering to the counter.

Holding her hand up a second as if she's listening, Rose seems to being hearing something Donna can't. Donna takes a step toward Rose, but stops when there's an audible crash from inside the TARDIS. They both look up at the pounding steps, and the Doctor bursts out of the TARDIS looking wildly around. Eyes falling to Rose, his face splits nearly in half with his manic grin. Seeming to fly, he materialises at her side in seconds.

"Doctor! What's wrong with Rose?" Donna demands.

"Nothing," he says with quiet glee, though his body is vibrating in barely contained excitement. Taking Rose's face in his hands, he presses his forehead gently to hers.

 _-Doctor?-_  Rose asks hesitantly in the privacy of their minds.

 _-Rose-_  the awe he currently feels is evident in his mental tone.

 _-What…is that…?-_  She wants to finish the sentence, but is suddenly overwhelmed by the flood of the Doctor's emotions.

_-Yes-_

_-But how?-_

"I would think by now, Rose Tyler, you would understand how," he says out loud, looking slightly confused.

"You daft man, of course I know that, I mean…what  _was_  that?" she asks, rolling her eyes at his obtuseness.

"That, my dear, precious, pink and yellow wife is our child being conceived. Telepathic species know when the spark ignites. That's you and I Rose…we just made a baby!" he crows with delight.

"Right here? Right now? Oh my God, aliens! Was that that forehead thing just now? Ew!" Donna admonishes. Her face the picture of righteous indignation.

"What?! No, of  _course_  not. Your mind, young lady, filthy!" the Doctor shakes his finger at Donna, eyebrow raised.

Putting her fists to her hips, she makes a mocking face at him, as the other boys arrive. Jack goes to her side, sliding an arm around her shoulders which has the desired effect of calming her down. Dougie gingerly takes a seat, still moving slowly.

"Donna, it is as the Doctor says. Telepathic species can feel the moment of conception which is not the moment of …," Dougie begins explaining, a soft smile on his face.

"Stop, right there. Everyone, really, just give me a minute," Rose exclaims, asking for a moment. "Doctor, you're saying that last night's…umm, activities resulted in…," Rose trails off, hands waving in the air, a slightly embarrassed blush rising to her cheeks.

"Yes, exactly! You're pregnant; just now. Isn't that  _fantastic, brilliant_? Molte bene!" Beaming, he looks around at everyone like all of his birthdays have arrived at once. Donna's eyes get a bit teary seeing him so happy and she smiles and nods at him, pulling Jack's arm tighter to her.

Rose is still in shock, so the look on her face is…blank.

Focusing on his wife again, the grin wilts a bit around the edges. "What? Isn't that alright? We'd talked about a family eventually…maybe…Rose?"

The look on his face is so hesitant and vulnerable that Rose finally notices. Blinking a couple of times to get past the shock, her face suffuses with joy. "No, no, it's…it's  **brilliant**! I just didn't realise; hadn't read up on any of that. Doctor, we're having a baby!"

Picking her up, he swings them around a couple of times, laughing all the while. Setting her down gently, he hugs Rose to himself. A father! He's going to be a father again. Certainly a teensy tiny part of him had hoped, the readouts seemed to confirm…but this,  ** _this_**  is something else entirely. This is hope. Hope for his family. Hope for the future, hope…he quite likes hope.

"Hey, Doc, you're going to be a dad!" Jack exclaims with a laugh. "That should make the TARDIS entertaining. Diaper changes, sticky fingers in your tools…ahhh fatherhood," Jack laughs. Looking down at Donna, he winks jauntily.

"Ohhhh no, Rocketboy. As soon as the pops there can get his head out the clouds, he'll be locating me …"

"Donna, I'm joking. No worries. I'm currently sterile for another five years, we're good. Though, little loud ginger babies would…"

"Oi! Just keep talking, Harkness!" Donna threatens, whisk raised.

Laughing, Jack kisses the top of her head affectionately before he takes a seat across the counter from the food prep with Dougie.

"My congratulations to you, Doctor. Rose. Tana's blessings on the child," Dougie says in his vaguely formal way.

"Thank you, Dougie. You're very sweet. How are you feeling, by the way?" Rose asks him with a smile, resuming her earlier preparations. "Did the Doctor get you sorted before we were ahhh…surprised?"

"Indeed, I am well enough. I will contact the tour group and meet back up with them at their next stop tomorrow. After breakfast, I believe I shall retire to my room and rest. It was a very long night," he says, covering a little yawn with his hand.

"Oww! Come on, just one piece, pleeeeease, Rose?" the Doctor asks Rose plaintively after getting smacked for trying to snatch banana pieces.

Relenting, she cuts him up a small pile. Popping one in his mouth, he pulls up a stool next to Rose, not ready to be even a meter away from her yet. "Might as well continue with your trip. It will be several days at least before the TARDIS is up and going again. I can't see any reason to leave earlier than the month Rose originally wanted."

Rose blinds him with her brightest smile at this declaration. She's thrilled he picked up on that signal, not that she was being particularly subtle.

"So in nine months, there'll be a little Time Lord? How long since that's happened?" Donna asks innocently.

The Doctor stills on the stool, growing a shade or two paler. Rose senses the change and is about to rescue him, when he surprises everyone by actually answering.

Taking a deep breath, the Doctor begins, "Well, Donna Time Lord babies were typically not born, they were engineered in genetic looms. As far as I know, I was the last naturally birthed Time Lord, and it takes a bit longer than for humans. Gallifreyans reproduced naturally, but not the Time Lord families. And before you ask, yes there is a difference, but it is a very long and boring story."

Proud of him for being so open, Rose peels another banana and sets in front of him as a reward. Feeling a bit like a praised puppy, the Doctor smiles lopsidedly at her but accepts the gift.

"Wow, Doc, that's been a long time. I assume they stopped looming when the War got bad?" Jack asks.

"Nope, they just loomed fully capable adults, already brain-buffed with enough knowledge to not get killed  _instantly_ ," he tells Jack, voice laced with disapproval.

All activity stops at that revelation, as the implications of being able to create fully formed adult soldiers completely battle ready occurs to them.

"That was just the foot soldiers though," the Doctor continues. "Time Lords, the only ones that can pilot a TARDIS, still had to be raised as children, still had to witness the Schism, and still had to go to the Academy. But this is just the tip of a really unpleasant iceberg that I would rather ignore, if you don't mind. Are you making muffins?" he asks with determined brightness, changing the subject. He isn't going to let the past mistakes of his idiot people ruin today. Nope, not gonna happen.

"Sure, Doc; understandable. You're just not usually this forthcoming. It's hard not to be curious, you know," Jack points out gently.

"Well, let's pick nice things to be curious about shall we? How about how much potassium you get from a single banana, it's quite remarkable. Or, there are really nasty jellyfish outside, don't touch them…the spots itch for days. Or…this star system has three suns, as I know you've noticed, a red giant and an orbiting binary pair of yellow dwarfs. They are in an intricate ballet that will continue for another few billion years before the twins consume the red giant. And then…."

"Okay, okay we get it, Doctor Brainiac. Throw me those pepper things for Rose's quiche," Donna tells him, putting a stop to the list of things  _he_  thinks are nice. Silly alien. Thinking back over the conversation, Donna realises one of her questions didn't get answered.

"Spaceman, so how long do Martian babies take to be born, then? Is Rose going to be pregnant for 2 years or somthin'?" Donna asks, grinning at the Doctor's discomfort and Rose's shocked expression.

"Wellll…are you asking about Martian babies or our child? I know I've told you before; we aren't Martians, Donna," he says wearily, running his hands through his already tasselled hair.

"I know, but you get so riled up. That's the fun part," Donna explains succinctly, grinning at Jack's burst of laughter from her candour.

"Ahh, I see," the Doctor replies, smiling back at his friend. "Rose will carry our child for about a year. It takes longer for all that superior biology. What?! Ow! What is it with you being all slappy today, Rose Tyler? I'm going to sit over there, where it's safer," he whines, picking up his stool to join the other boys. Rose sticks her tongue out at him. She'd smacked him for his superior comment. It might be true, but it was so condescending, and he never got that!

 _/Blimey, I'll look like I swallowed a whole planet after a year!/_ Rose thinks to herself, smiling and remembering Rory's comment about his wife so long ago on Pete's World. It was just days later and she was back with her Doctor. It hasn't even been a year yet and part of her feels like it was forever ago, while another part feels like it was just yesterday. Sighing, she looks down at her belly, imagining how it will look, thinking about how big her mum got with Tony.

 _-Nah, maybe just a small moon_ \- the Doctor replies silently, having heard her thought.

_-Oh, I'm sorry. I'm not complaining.-_

_-I know. You aren't shielding either. I'm sorry this is so overwhelming-_  he sends her with a wave of understanding. He's feeling the same way.

 _-I'm fine. It was just a surprise. I can't believe we're going to have a baby!-_  Her excitement is palpable through her tone and their link.

He grins at her sentiment while she's mashing the bananas into the mix. Maybe it's a touch of the Doctor's earlier melancholy, but Rose is suddenly reminded of her stint in Pete's World.

_-You know when I was first…lost, I wished we had…you know, complicated our relationship. I wished that I could've at least had your baby. But it was selfish of me. What would I have done with a Time Lord baby in an alternate Universe? They'd be even lonelier than you when everyone they loved died and with no one to teach them about their differences. Once I dragged my head out of my arse, I knew it was best that it was just me. I missed you so much.-_

_-Oh, Rose…-_ Seeing her flashes of memories and emotions, floods his hearts with remorse.

_-Do_ **_not_ ** _apologise again for circumstances that were out of our control, or for decisions that were made whether for right or wrong._ **_Everything_ ** _is_ **_not_ ** _your fault. I just wanted you to know that I have zero doubts about our baby. They'll be perfect.-_

_-Well, let's hope not, perfection is so limiting. Where does one go from perfection?-_  he sends her affectionately, letting go of the threatening gloom with a vast warm wave of his love, coupled with his teasing smirk.

 _-I love you-_  Rose replies to him, backing it up with her own wave of warmth.

_-F_ _or as long as the Sun of our Love burns, and our Hearts beats as one, Rose Tyler-_

_~FINIS~_

****

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well, that's it! You have all been wonderful, and I really appreciate the kudos and comments. :-) The next story is a one shot that takes place a couple of months after this story. I'll start posting that tomorrow, it is 4 chapters called Mulligan. 
> 
> Hopefully by the beginning of next week, I will start posting the NEW story called Something to Live For. It will be another larger work encompassing some known destinations and several new ones. I'll try to post new chapters for that one twice a week. I am already well into it and we are beta'ing it as I type this, but I like keeping a buffer of several chapters in case I need to rework something mid-stream. I hope you'll like it!
> 
> For those of you who have stuck with me, I give you my heartfelt thanks. To Ashlanielle and Layla Crimson, my undying devotion and affection; I don't know that I would have ever kept going without your stalwart support. You ladies are the best.
> 
> I look forward to writing more soon, and I hope you continue enjoying what I've written. My Gratitude is boundless. Cheers!


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